2014: page one hundred seventeen

Just a chilly, windy Sunday here. Ashton's birthday party at the park was pretty short. :(

It's funny, though, that the crazy cold wind didn't bother the kids at all. They ran around and played at the playground without any complaints.

Maybe the adults should have run around, too... Ha!

2014: page one hundred sixteen

 

Ciara's birthday party!

 

We drove out to Salt Lake to celebrate Ciara's second birthday. Auntie Sonya had a bubble machine (pictures above) that the girl's loved! Due to the rainy weather, we had to do the bubbles inside. Unfortunately, I only got a few pictures and the ones that I got were a little blurry. Oh well.

 

As always, spending time with family was wonderful and worth the trip out there!

 

On the way out of town, we met up with the former Worship Pastor from when I worked at South Mountain and his wife for a little dinner and to talk about leading music. Ryan is gearing up to take this task on at church and was looking for some direction and advice. Mike and Joani were a great help, plus it was just nice to catch up with them.

 

Day trips make for a long day, getting home around 10:30 and making it a 12+ hour day. But fun nonetheless. :)

2014: page one hundred fifteen

This momma got a haircut today! Yahoo! :) A little bit of pampering, even as simple as getting my hair cut and having it styled, does wonders. :)

Crystal watched B so I could get that done plus a couple of other things. So, later in the day I fixed enough dinner for all of us and we took it over there and hung out for the evening with them and Ryan's parents.

A pretty chill Friday evening with family. Life is good.

2014: page one hundred fourteen

I'm happy to report that I'm feeling better than yesterday. We even made a trip out of the house to the drive thru for some lunch and then played outside for a while today. Fresh air always seems to help. :)

2014: page one hunded thirteen

Well, the good news is that I slept amazingly well last night, as in straight through the night without waking up! I'm not sure I even moved much...thank you NyQuil! ;)

The bad news is that I still don't feel well. B and I both slept until 9:15 which is when Ryan came home to check on us before heading to Colorado. Thankfully, he stayed home for about 3 hours to watch B while I got some more rest on the couch and started feeling a bit better. After he left in the early afternoon, B and I had a pretty low key day for the rest of the day.

2014: page one hundred twelve

Part of B's Easter basket was some paint. So, guess what we did today? Yep, we painted! She had so much fun and painted for quite a while. And thanks to washable paint, I didn't have to sit there the entire time watching like a hawk to make sure she didn't get it on anything. :) Although, it was fun to watch her. Little minds are so amazing!

 

Throughout the day, I started to get sneezy and got a little cough. I felt a cold coming on. :( I was hoping that it wouldn't get too bad...

 

In the evening, we headed over to what will be April's new house after she gets married, to help with putting in new flooring. Well, Ryan did the helping. B and I hung out with everyone. :)

 

By the time B and I got home this evening, I felt horrible. For the first time in years, I took some NyQuil to hopefully help me get some sleep in order to get better faster. We'll see in the morning.

 

After I took it, I made sure to text Ryan so he could come home from helping with flooring in case B woke up and I was crashed out. Ha.

Putting the shells from her shells and cheese on her fingers. :)

2014: page one hundred eleven

 “Ladybug” magazine!

One of B's birthday presents from my mom and dad was a subscription to "Ladybug" magazine. Well, the first one came in the mail today and she was SO excited to get it! We had to take a picture and send it to Grandma and Grandpa. :)

2014: page one hundred ten

He is risen! Hallelujah!

Happy Easter! I am so thankful that we get to celebrate the most important day in the history of mankind - the day God saved us ALL from our sins! Amen!

We celebrated at church and then later joined most of Ryan's family at the park for an Easter egg hunt and, of course, food. :)

I only wish I would have taken at least one picture of the day, but nope. Oh well.

2014: page one hundred nine

For the most part today is a day that I'd rather re-write or erase, but I guess that really isn't an option now is it. :( I didn't feel well and was pretty grumpy. Took it out on Ryan. Started an argument. Ugh.

BUT, B and I did do some egg dying and had a lot of fun doing it. :)

 

Ryan took B for the afternoon and evening, so I could be alone with my grumpy self. I guess that's good. I got some "me" time, but I do wish I would have chosen to get over my grumps and gone fishing with my hubby and baby girl.

 

Live and learn. And be thankful for a new day tomorrow!

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Today is Good Friday. Grateful doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about what Jesus did on the cross to save us ALL from our sins. The following is a great description of why it's called Good Friday:

 

"Why do Christians call the day of His death “Good Friday”? They do so because of what He accomplished for us on that day. The key is to understand who Jesus was, and why He came into the world. Jesus wasn’t just another human being; He was... also God in human flesh. Jesus Himself declared, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

And the reason He came into the world was to deal with the greatest problem of the human race: the problem of our sins. Jesus was perfect and without sin—but on the cross all our sins were transferred to Him, and He died in our place. We deserved to die on that cross, but Jesus took the punishment we deserve—and because He did, we can be forgiven and cleansed of all our sins.

Yes, it was a tragedy Jesus had to die—and the reason He had to die was because of us. There was no other way for our sins to be forgiven, and no other way for heaven’s door to be opened to us. He was willing to do this because He loves us, and He doesn’t want us to spend eternity apart from Him. Open your heart to Christ today, and when you do, it truly will become your “Good Friday”!"

(Here is where I found the above quote)

Random thoughts for a Friday....

• Sun-kissed skin just makes me happy. :) (We played outside for a long time today)
• Thankful for a wonderful partner and teammate to journey through this life with!
• Natural vitamin D is the BEST medicine.
• A good night's rest does wonders!
• I wish I was a bit more crafty, but at least I can attempt to copy other people's wonderful ideas, like these below:

The rake is a necklace/jewelry holder...brilliant! The upper left: I have a bunch of cabinet fronts waiting for something to be done with them. The middle left is a little hard to tell, but it's a window frame that I just like what they've done with each pane. I've been saving a bunch of bottles and glass jars and the bottom left is my favorite. And how cute is that lampshade?!

2014: page one hundred seven

Yahoo, B is starting to feel better! Still not 100%, but much better. She actually wanted to go play outside today! Yeah for outside and yeah for not being stuck inside watching videos!

We did start our morning off a little rough. After Ryan got up to get ready for work and B was in our bed, she was pretty restless not wanting to stay near me and in the center of the bed (it's a king bed, so plenty of room). As well, she kept climbing on top of his pillow that we had laying to help her from rolling off if she fell asleep (she has never come close to it, but just in case). I kept moving her back to the middle.

Well, I guess I dozed off for a minute until I heard a big thud. And then crying. Loud crying. Oh no! She rolled off the bed. :( Apparently, she landed face down and cut her mouth somewhere. Poor girl! I felt so bad. The only upside I could see to this is that all the hard crying got A LOT of snot out of her nose. Silver linings, right...

After she woke up and found out daddy was at work, she cried, "daddy, daddy" while laying down at the top of the stairs. She looks so miserable here, but thankfully, she started feeling better soon after.

Another "fun" (said sarcastically) event of our day happened when Ryan was home for lunch. The two of them were upstairs playing in her room. Next thing I know Ryan is calling for my help. Wwwweeeellll, I guess all her sickness is coming out and in different ways. Like diarrhea ways. Lots of it. Out of her pull up. On her shirt. On her pants. Oh, and on the carpet. Ugh. And yuck, yuck, YUCK!

The two us got her taken care and then wouldn't you know it, Ryan had to get back to work. No, for real. He had a conference call starting in a few minutes. Just glad he was here to help get her taken care of.

I didn't really know where to start to get sticky, gooey diarrhea out of the carpet. So, of course, I googled it.

Step 1: scrape off as much as you can, you know, without rubbing it in any further.
Step 2: spray, spray, spray it with a vinegar and water solution.
Step 3: use spot scrubber machine on it.
Step 4: repeat steps 2 & 3 over and over again.
Step 5: sprinkle (or dump) baking soda on top and let it absorb it.
Step 6: vacuum up baking soda.
Step 7: come back later to check on it and still be able to see the spot. :(
Step 8: spray it with more vinegar and water solution
Step 9: soak up with paper towel by pressing down as hard as you possibly can to get it to absorb into the paper towel
Step 10: repeat step 9 a few times.

Ah, finally, the spot it gone!!!

On another note, here's a happy picture from our time outside.

Leaves on the lilac bushes!!

2014: page one hundred six

Sick Day #3

Last night was pretty rough for us all. Poor baby girl is still sick. After trying several things, B and I ended up on the couch just before 3 AM where she seemed to get her best sleep. Once Ryan was up to get ready for the day, I took her up into our bed and she slept in pretty well.

None of this is helping us work on the sleep issues we are having, but I figure she needs to get better first and then we'll work on them again.

Today was her worst sick day so far and she just looks miserable. :( I'm hoping this is rock bottom and she starts the upswing now.

Ryan got off work a bit early and took her for a long drive to help her get some daytime rest, as she was resisting that today. This provided me with a bit of time to get a few things done and fix a delicious dinner (braised chicken in artichoke-mushroom sauce) from my current favorite cookbook, Against All Grain. Mmmmm... :)

365 Things in 365 Days

Stuff.

Stuff everywhere.

Too much stuff.

Simplify.

I'm looking to simplify life and less stuff seems like a good place to start. After all, we still have a bunch of boxes in the basement from when we moved into our house almost 2 years ago. Not to mention all the stuff I pick up on a daily basis that I don't know where to put.

So, my goal is to sell, giveaway, donate or toss AT LEAST one thing per day for an entire year. Hopefully, even more than that will be gone by April 6th, 2015. (I started this process on April 7th)

The money from what we sell will be put in a give-away fund or a miscellaneous-spending-money fund or something still to be determined, but NOT to buy more stuff! The giveaway/donate items will hopefully make their way to homes and people who can actually use them. 

2014: page one hundred five

Day 2 of being home with a sick kiddo.

She seems to have moments where she feels a little better. At one point today, she said she wanted to go play in her room. I guess she was done watching TV for a while (which I am thankful for) and ended up playing in her room for quite a long time. Finding toys she hadn't played with for quite some time helped keep her busy.

Once Ryan got home, I showered (finally!) and got ready. I needed to get out of the house for a bit. Well, where did I end up? The grocery store, of course. Ha ha! Even though it was just the grocery store, it was still a much needed mommy break and nice to be able to take my time wandering the aisles. And bonus, we have some more groceries. :)

2104: page one hundred four

Poor B woke up this morning with a cough and a fever. Much of our day was spent resting on the couch watching all her favorites: Bubble Guppies, Dora, Team Umi Zoomi, Peppa Pig. Hopefully, she'll get over it quickly! It's sad to see your little one not feeling well. :(

In other news, I found 3 cans of pumpkin that need to be used right away, so I made some delicious grain-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Mmmmm, pumpkin goodies really are good any time of the year! :)

2014: page one hundred three

We celebrated Ahlyvia's birthday today with a "little" family party after church. It's hard to believe that she's 11! She was only 5 when I first met her. Time sure does fly!

2014: page one hundred two

 

 

Having the opportunity to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit was amazing! I am so thankful that the exhibit made it to Salt Lake and that we made it out there for this once in a lifetime experience!

 

Ryan and I decided back in November that his mom's birthday present would be a trip out to the exhibit. So today, we loaded B in the truck, stopped by and picked up his parents and headed out to the city for the day.

 

Over 600 items were included in the exhibit, including actual pieces found as a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1952. Pretty cool!

 

B did pretty good. although we encountered a few fits, but she napped on Ryan's and Grandpa's shoulder for a while, which seemed to help. Grandpa helped keep her entertained towards the end and even bought her a rubber ducky holding a menorah. :)

 

A stop at Scheel's, then dinner in Heber and back home.

 

A pretty great day, if you ask me.



2014: page one hundred one

Happy Friday!

2014: page one hundred

A small victory occurred in our house today. B finally took a nap without getting up once, which has not happened in over a week. Progress, people. We are making progress.

Even though the weather is nice, she still likes to put a hat on to go outside. :)

 

I told her to go get her shoes so we could go outside. She found her one pink tennis shoe, but after not being able to find the other, she brought me the black one. I guess you don't need matching shoes to go play in the yard. :) (It's funny how fat her foot looks in the black shoe. Rather uncomfortable. Probably won't be wearing those shoes anymore...)

Leaves are starting to bud on our lilac bushes!!

2014: page ninety-nine

B and I were supposed to meet Dana and Jason today in Heber for a lunch/park date. However, due to some pretty rough sleep last night, I decided it wouldn't be good to make the drive. :( So bummed!

I am tired. No, I am exhausted. Being exhausted, I've discovered, makes me get angry easily. I yell a lot. In my head anyway. Not good. So, driving tired + angry = a bad idea.

Oh, how much fun it would have been, but like Dana said, this is not our only chance and we will try for another day soon. I'm looking forward to it!

So, we found a plan B: meet up with one of B's aunties and a couple cousins for lunch and playtime at the park here. That's a pretty good plan B, I think. Crystal and I had some hang out time and the girls had fun playing. Yippee! Plus, the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. And B fell asleep in the Jeep and finished with a good nap in her bed! Double yippee! :)

2014: page ninety-eight

I'm pretty much at my wit's end with this whole sleeping issue we have going on at our house right now along with cleaning up poop accidents. I know it's all a part of being a mom. It's not all glamorous (actually, I've found MOST of it isn't glamorous. Ha!), but it's worth it. So, that's all I'm going to say about it for today and I'm moving on. :)

Ryan could tell that I was having a rough day, so he took B and I to the park. On the way, he stopped at the store and had me pick up something from the deli so that I wouldn't have to fix dinner. Insert a sigh of relief here. Well, by the time I grabbed some chicken strips and we got to the park, B was crashed out. So, we ate in the Jeep and headed back home.

We decided to let her sleep for a little bit longer even though it was a bit late in the evening and put her in her bed.

As of yesterday, we began to get a smell of cat pee that started wafting up from the basement and it's getting worse. Yuck! I'll be honest in that I am not a big cat person in the first place, and then to have that smell...

Apparently, the cat likes to go to the bathroom sometimes on some remnant carpet we have in the basement. Eeew. Well, when we got down there to move the stuff off the carpet to remove it, we discovered the carpet was soaking wet. Not fun! So, in reality, yes, the cat had gone to the bathroom a little bit down there, but it was exasperated by the wet carpet. After further investigating, it appears that some water had leaked from having the hose on a for a while the other day. Actually, this is good news compared to what Ryan thought it was at first, which was water seeping up through the concrete foundation. Thank goodness!

The three of us and the dogs finished our evening with a walk on the golf course, heading to the pond which was full of birds. Yeah for spring!

And, finally, the random photo of the day: I'm trying to be gluten/grain free and I'd seen a picture of a cucumber sandwich a few weeks ago. So, I decided to try it and it was delicious, although a bit messy. :)

2014: page ninety-seven

Living So That...

That's the title of a new Bible Study that I am starting today as a part of my Online Bible Study and I am really excited about it and looking forward to it! Studying Scripture and being able to apply it more practically are two things about this study that I am the most excited about!

Below is the book description from Amazon:

In today’s world, it’s tough to make everyday decisions, let alone decisions that honor God. Our culture is increasingly driven by selfish desires. However, as Christians, our lives should not be self-centered and static; they should be others-centered and active, making a difference for the Kingdom of God.

Living "So That” is a fresh approach to understanding God's Word, focusing on many of the powerful "so that" verses in Scripture, including Jesus Came So That. . .; God Spoke So That. . .; Pray So That. . .; Trials Come So That. . . . Through her approachable style, personal examples, and biblical teaching, Wendy equips readers to take what they study in the Word of God and practically live it out in order to impact the world around them. The result is a renewed appreciation for the power and applicability of Scripture. Through practical examples and biblical truths, Wendy helps readers gain a new perspective on daily living, equipping them to apply these biblical truths to present-day decision-making.

2014: page ninety-six

Silly girl. She really cracks me up with her "look at me" over and over again. And then the look on her face at the end when she realizes she's dizzy. :)

Now that's some good Sunday entertainment.

2014: page ninety-five

T.I.R.E.D.

I don't think that I've been this tired since having a newborn! Wow.

Last night was rough. B woke up just before 2:00 and got out her bed and came in to our room. A replay of our going to bed experience, except at 2:00 in the morning and for longer. About 2.5 hours and 500 more times putting her back into her bed.

Result: Seriously tired momma and daddy. Thankfully, Ryan was home and we could take turns putting her back to bed. But, still....

I really, REALLY hope that this phase ends and we get back into our good bedtime and sleeping-through-the-night routine that we've had going since she was 6 months old.

Needless to say, our day was pretty low key. Ryan and B played outside for a while. I did some meal planning and trip planning. Then we headed to dinner because, let's face it, neither of us felt like cooking!

2014: page ninety-four

Started the day off going to breakfast with April and Ash, which was so nice considering what a long week this has been! We ended up sitting and chatting at the restaurant for a couple of hours. Thanks sisters! And thanks B for hanging in there with us for that long. :)

Ever since we've been back from Denver, B's had a difficult time falling asleep and sleeping in her own bed. How trying it has been for the both of us. She ended up taking her nap on our bed, which is ok with me, because at least she napped!

Bedtime was a whole other story and probably the hardest parenting moments that I've had so far! Oh my. And Ryan had a late flight, which means that he didn't get home until almost midnight. :(

Well, I managed even though I was at my wits end. Only 2 hours and about 500 times putting her back into her bed and she FINALLY fell asleep. Man was that exhausting!

Relief and joy came over me when Ryan walked in the door. So, so thankful my hubby is home!

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Long, hard, and tiresome is how I would describe today. BUT, at least it was warm enough to get outside for a little while today. :)

 

And I can't say how glad I am that Ryan will be home tomorrow!

2014: page ninety-two

We spent all day at home trying to get this potty training thing down. Spending last week in Denver set us back a bit, but that's ok. She'll really catch on once I quit messing her up. ;)

Lesson learned for today...don't let her fall asleep with her singing Dora microphone because she might hit it while sleeping and it might wake her up. Let's just say that naptime was short today.

I walked in her room to find that she'd climbed into her box, having fun.
(Right by the window thus the lighting)

2104: page ninety-one

Today we had lunch with Randi and somebody got a birthday present from her. :)

A swimsuit, swim cover, and life jacket. Sweet!

Now, she is asking to go swimming every 5 minutes. Ha!

Unfortunately, we had a couple potty accidents today. Anyone know how to get pee out of a fabric chair? And the second one ended in taking a bath. Sigh.

There's always tomorrow.

I took the pictures below a couple of weeks ago on my "real" camera, so they didn't make it on here as quickly as the ones taken with my phone.

These first couple of pictures, B looks SO MUCH like Ryan! I know she looks a lot like him anyway, but after seeing some baby pictures of him a while back, she looks almost identical to him in these ones.

The rest are just stilly faces she was making for the camera.

And yes, that is chocolate on her face. A reward for going potty in the potty. :)

And yes, she is sitting in a pile of clean, but unfolded laundry on the couch that sat there for way, way longer than it should have.

 

 

 

2014: page ninety

Mom and dad went home this morning and Ryan headed out, as well, to the great north. So after such a full weekend and week last week, it seems a bit quiet around here. Ha! Actually, the quiet is a kind of nice and I'm looking forward to a low key week. :) I'm thankful for two big dogs and a sweet girl to keep me company! Oh, and the cat.

Ahlyvia came over after school today to play with B. As always, they had fun and I got a few things done. That's a good thing considering our house is a disaster from having such a busy weekend.

When April came to pick up Ahlyvia, she hung out for a little while and we chatted. Hanging out with her was great as it has been quite a while since we've had a chance to do that.

A sweet surprise arrived at my door today - flowers from the church for helping with the party yesterday! I wasn't expecting anything at all, but it feels good to be appreciated! And who doesn't like to get flowers?!

2014: page eighty-nine

Harvest Fellowship Church - 21st Anniversary Celebration

Eating, fellowshipping, singing, sharing stories. A good time was had by all as we celebrated what God has done in the last 21 years and looking forward to what is to come.

 

All the hard work from yesterday paid off. :)

2014: page eighty-eight

Scanning pictures into the computer
Uploading more pictures from discs
Creating a slideshow
Putting together a playlist
Printing programs
Setting up chairs & tables
Decorating
Baking 3 cakes
Etc., etc. etc.

Yep, I spent pretty much all of today doing stuff and getting ready for our big church party tomorrow. Wahoo! Since we were in Denver all week, much of what needed to be done was saved for today. Although, I'll be the first to admit that I am quite the procrastinator and I imagine things would have looked similar even if we had not been out of town. :)

Ryan was helping his sister and her family move, so thankfully, Grandma Kathy took B for most of the day. Then my parents came to town to help watch B the rest of the day, so I was able to get it all accomplished. Whew!

2014: page eighty-seven

Our drive home didn't go as smoothly as our drive out, but that's ok. A little bad weather and a lot of traffic made it a slower go. The 25ish miles from Idaho Springs to the Eisenhower Tunnel took over an hour. :( Once we made it past the tunnel, things got better. Although, it felt like we were fighting traffic the whole way. Definitely, not a relaxing drive. We made it home safely, though. :)

Pulling into our driveway is always refreshing for me! Home sweet home!

On another note, I had a pretty vividly real dream last night that was rather frightening for me. I'm not sure I really want to talk about it. Even bringing it up to Ryan this afternoon was difficult. Dreaming such a dream made me re-evaluate some things, so at least there's that silver lining. And I thank God that it was just a dream!

2014: page eighty-six

So, the weather didn't cooperate with us going to the zoo today, however, that didn't stop us from going somewhere - the Downtown Aquarium!

Sarah and her girls picked B and I up from our hotel and we headed north. The aquarium was so much fun! The only downside was that it is spring break and so it was crowded. Nonetheless, we all enjoyed seeing the fish, sea creatures, and even mermaids. Yep, they had a mermaid show, which the girls loved. :)

B with Abby (holding B), Isabelle, and Marin. Her new friends!

Abby was sweet enough to take B up on the bridge.

The otters would come up to the glass and do flips off of it. So fun to watch.

After the aquarium, we headed back down towards the hotel and stopped for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Sarah's girls took B and they played in the play area, while Sarah and I enjoyed some girl time of our own. It's fun to have a new friend, even though she lives far away.

In the evening, we met up with Beth, my first Colorado roommate. We haven't seen each other in almost 8 years! Her and her husband recently moved back from England and have settled in the Denver area. Great to see her and catch up!

Today is the last day of our Denver trip, as we are heading home tomorrow. When we set out on Monday, I had no idea how fun and full this trip would be! Seeing friends that I have known for a long time and meeting new friends made this a fabulous trip! I look forward to the next time Ryan has to come out for work. :)

Look Who's 2!

I can't believe that my baby girl is TWO YEARS OLD (as of a few weeks ago)! Time flies by so quickly!

A Few of Her Favorites:

• Food: Cheeseburgers are by far her favorite food. She could eat them for every meal I think. Followed by mac n cheese, peaches, chocolate chips, and ice cream.
• Songs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday to You, and just about any song really
• TV Show: Bubble Guppies and Peppa Pig

On her actual birthday, excited to eat a cheeseburger.

She Loves To:

• Sing
• Dance
• Jump
• Play with her cousins
• Go outside to play
• Swing
• Play in the dirt
• Go to church

Her vocabulary is amazing for her age. She knows hundreds of words and can put sentences together really well. Listening to her talk and the funny random things she says is so much fun to listen to.

She can count to 13 except she always skips over the number 5.

My Favorite Things She Says:

• God everywhere
• That tickles (instead of laughing when you tickle her, sometimes she just says this)
• Momma, where are you?
• What happened?

Statistics

• Weight: 25 lbs 3 oz (25th percentile)
• Height: 33.5 inches (45th percentile)

2014: page eighty-five

Someone enjoyed the bed...she was content to lay there all morning if I would have let her. :)

 

Another day at the mall - thankfully, our hotel is within walking distance so we can get out of the hotel and have somewhere fun to go.

Today, it was just B and I for most of the day. We headed to the mall and then to The Container Store, which is near the mall. I was so excited when I saw this store that I had only ever heard of. :) It's an organizer's dream store and it's probably a good thing that we were on foot without a car. Can't buy much stuff when you have to haul it around in a stroller. Ha! I'm betting Ryan is thankful for that, too. ;)

Eating at Red Robin finished off our morning/afternoon together. Man, I forget how much I like there burgers. And B got her favorite food, a cheeseburger.

That evening, Ryan's boss invited us all over for dinner, where we met his beautiful wife and three sweet girls. B had a blast with the girls and I enjoyed getting to know Sarah. We spent quite a while there, just hanging out and eating the delicious food. Sarah and I took the girls to a local park to play, while Ryan and his two bosses stayed back at the house to talk work, I suppose.

Sarah and I made plans for tomorrow to go to the zoo, if it's warm enough. Looks like tomorrow will be another fun day and B and I have new friends!

2014: page eighty-four

What a wonderful day full of fun and friends - new ones and old ones!

When we got in to town last evening, it dawned on me that my small group leader, Suzanne, from my online Bible study lives in the Denver area. I decided to throw it out there to her that I was in town. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a chicken and was afraid of putting myself out there to be rejected, so I didn't outright ask her if she wanted to meet up. But, thankfully, once she knew I was in town, plans got started to meet up at the mall! Since B and I don't have a vehicle to get around, she was willing to travel the 25-30 minutes in order to meet up. What a blessing it was to meet her and her children!

B and I got there a bit before Suzanne and her kids, so we wandered about a bit. In the middle of the mall, there was a water fountain, which B really enjoyed. She kept wanting to go back to it. Looking for crocodiles was her goal. Ha ha ha! I kept telling her that there weren't any, but she was having fun and kept looking. :)

Once Suzanne and her kids got there the five of us spent a lot of time at the mall eating lunch and just wandering and talking. Her sweet daughter took the lead and we went to some very fun stores, including Build A Bear, American Girl, and the Disney store. B's favorite was the Disney store. She lit up when we walked in and said, "Wow, oh wow!"

Then in the evening Ryan, B and I met up with Christine, one of my closest friends and a roommate when I lived in Colorado. We haven't seen each other in almost 4 years, so it was wonderful to be able to spend some time together. As well, I got to meet her youngest who is 9 months old and she met B for the first time. So much fun to see how our lives have changed and to still be friends! I only wish we had taken a picture. :(

B & M

Me and Suzanne