Monday, March 28, 2011

The Barn

Who can say they were proposed to in a Barn? Not many, huh? Well, I can. Three years ago today Bradly Dean proposed to me in the barn in his back yard. We lovingly call it a "romantic space." From what Brad tells me, the original plans for the night did not include the barn, but nothing really went right that night. The first offense was me insisting we work on Chemistry homework instead of enjoying time with each other. Then there was the dinner that he cooked for us that ended up being a family affair rather than a dinner for two and about an hour and a half after the planned dinner time due to cooking difficulties. Then there was his funny dad who insisted on Brad going through with the night despite the lack of atmosphere. I think for most of the night I was oblivious to what was going on or that Brad was so nervous, but I think I finally realized something with his father's insistent coaxing. In the end, despite all the difficulties getting there, Brad really did make the barn a "romantic space." He had lanterns lit around a swing inside the barn and we just sat and enjoyed dessert and each other's company while staying warn next to a fire. It's fun to think back three years and see all that we have done in that time. We have grown so much, and love each other so much more. Love you so much Brad! Happy engagement anniversary!

The happy couple on the momentous night

A picture we took outside the barn. We sat on that very swing when he proposed to me.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Spring Break

We celebrated Spring Break "stay-cation" style this year (Actually, I don't remember the last time I really went some place over spring break). Monday, we decided drive down to Provo and see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was very worth the drive to go down there. We rented an ipad that gave a lot of additional background info related to the paintings. It was very informative and really added a lot to the exhibit. I did however have to remind myself to focus on the paintings a time or two instead of the ipad. After our time in the exhibit, we met up with my Aunt who is a professor at BYU for some lunch at the Brick Oven. I've never been there before, but it very delish. After lunch we met up with Nela. Nela's family is from Costa Rica. Brad served with her father in one of his areas on his mission. She came to Utah about the time Brad and I got married to learn English. She is now married, and we got to see her cute little boy who is about 1 1/2 months younger than Ellie, but much much bigger than Ellie. It was so fun to see her and her little big man.


Brad's oldest sister, Kristi, and her family were all in Utah this week from Ohio. We haven't seen her husband in over a year, so it was great to see the whole family. We got to spend time with them on Tuesday and Thursday. They have three very energetic little girls, and I think Ellie had fun meeting them for the first time. We spent a lot of time out in Hooper just enjoying time together. They also had fun at the Treehouse on Thursday morning. I was at work, but got to meet up with them for lunch. Alas, I took no pictures of these cute girls together. It sure was fun to spend time with family we don't get to see very often. Having a baby brings new light to family visits.

Brad worked his regular hours at work this week, so when he came home from work on Friday, we had a movie night invite out at Milly and Rob's. They had super nacho supplies for dinner, and icecream too. We left before the movie, Mega Mind, was over due to a grumpy girl who didn't want to fall asleep.

Saturday night I went on a night out with my youngest brother. He had tickets to the Utah Symphony in Salt Lake, so he invited me along. We had a lot of fun, and it has really been to long since I last went to a symphony.

It was so nice to spend lots and lots of time with family, and just relax and not really think about school for a bit. Brad has four more weeks, and we'll be done with his first year of pharmacy school! Hard to believe, but I can't wait!

P.S. Sorry about the long post with no pics.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Teeth

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething."
~Mark Twain

We are getting into the phase where we will learn just how true Mark Twain's words are. Ellie is officially cutting her first tooth. I didn't feel anything on her gums yesterday, but when I got home from work I noticed the sharp prominence jutting out of her lower gum. I tried to take a few last pictures of her toothless grin, but apparently she doesn't really like to show her gums when a picture is trying to be taken. This a cute picture of her anyway.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Meal Time

We are enjoying the whole idea of a variable diet with Elinor here in the Winter home. She loves eating food. I'll bet that she can't wait to have some good chompers in order to have the whole experience. But for now she is either eating mush or chewing soft foods away with her gums, and loving every minute of it. She loves to use her fingers to pick up food whenever possible. This includes green beans, pieces of squash, and bits of bread to name a few. And if there is only a bowl of mush available, she just throws her hands in the mush and squishes it through her fingers. This is they followed by running her mush filled hands all over her face, all over her arms, all over the high chair, and all over her clothes. I put a bib on her every day, but sometimes I question its purpose. I think her favorite part of eating is the mess that entails. Here are a few pics of the sweet girl.




Abe is such a Romantic

President's Day is always a holiday I look forward to. Not only do I get payed to not go to work, Brad has school off, and I get to look forward to a special treat. Every year since we have been married, we celebrate the day with flowers. Okay, okay, you might be thinking that President's Day is usually less than a week after Valentine's Day, so why would I need flowers? Well, I have never wanted flowers on Valentine's Day. They are overpriced for the holiday, and I just don't think its worth it. We always do something nice for Valentine's Day, we just don't celebrate with flowers. Anyway, so instead Brad has made it a tradition to give me flowers for President's Day. This year he was such a sweetie that he also got me some other President's Day gifts: a mirror for our living room, and a new pair of pants. I have been searching for a mirror to hang in our living room for the past little while, and Brad found exactly what I wanted without me being there. I was more than impressed. And he knew that I had wrecked a pair of pants in the wash by leaving a tube of chap stick in the pocket (isn't that aggravating!?!), so he got me a new pair. He got himself a pair too. So, in case you were wondering, we think Abe Lincoln is quite the Romantic at our home. Happy President's Day!

President's Day flowers of years past. I loved that bright happy daisy! It was much needed in the dreary cold February of our basement apartment.
President's Day gifts with notes from none other than Abraham himself attached.
This year's P-Day flowers. Once again, I love the brightness of the flowers. It is a welcomed change to the drab February weather.