Blowing By

 

I keep thinking I am all up to date on the blog posting, until I look and realize how much time has passed since the last post. Time is seriously blowing by. Unfortunately, the wind is too. I apparently touted the nice weather a little too premature. Since the last post,  I can't say I have been in love with conditions. We have had sun, but too much wind for my liking. Is it like this every year and I have selective memory, or is it actually worse this year? Regardless, we have kept ourselves busy, not sure if we have been productive, but definitely busy!

 

 

Mark and I (mostly I) have been working on our second home study....yippee (insert sarcasm). Our current home study works for everyone except LDS Family Services. They initially said they would take an independent home study, but then changed their minds. It has been beyond annoying to do that process for a second time, but it is a necessary evil. We haven't had the best of luck finding other agencies to work with for one reason or another. We initially wanted to work with a number of different places, but many want a substantial amount up front which makes that impossible. Something that has been somewhat of a shock to me is the response I get once I mention we are LDS. People have been all sorts of excited about working with us until they find that out. I recognize I live in a bubble, but it is still slightly shocking that many still don't believe we are Christian.

 

 

In other news, my parents officially leave in less than two weeks. I am in denial. I try not to think about it too much. I know I am almost 30 and this shouldn't be this devastating, but it makes me sad. I have loved watching Paige develop a relationship with her grandparents. It has been beneficial to me, but so much more so for Paige. She adores them, and sadly, she won't even remember the time she has had with them. She will be in kindergarten when they get home---and home won't even be here. So strange! Additionally, they have been packing and moving stuff into our crawl space a little bit at a time. In the past week, the old homestead has really thinned out. In a week, it will no longer be "Boppa's and Mamma's".  I am sad to see it go. In a world where people are surrounded by extended family, generations of family for that matter, I am still coming to grips with the fact I won't have any left nearby. It seems much more obvious than it might be if we lived in a different part of the country. My side of the family will be a complete mystery to Paige. My mom's family was much the same way for me, and it always made me a bit sad. We have been trying to cram in as much fun time as possible with my parents, and I hope to cram a lot more in what little time we have left.

 

 





Paige can be such a girly-girl. This was the first time she wore this dress, and she told me looked "so pretty!" She was pretty excited when I suggested we take a picture for Boppa and Livvy.

 

Memorial Day looks awfully nice and warm doesn't it?! The kick off to summer is always terrible weather it seems like. This year was no different. It was SO windy, but down in the river bottoms behind our house, it wasn't too bad. I was surprised at how calm it was down there. We decided to roast some marshmallows with Mark's family. It was pretty despite the cooler temperatures, and we ended up having a great time. Paige loves being with her cousins.

 

Love that we can go "camping" in our backyard, and sleep in our own beds. That is the type of camping I love the most.

 

I have found nap time is much more productive when Paige and I spend time outside. We try to get out and walk every chance we get. This particular day wasn't very nice, and Paige was going nuts, which in turn drove Mom nuts. I had a few hours to kill before Mark came home to save the day, so a walk it was! Paige is so easily distracted and her legs are so short, a walk in the river bottoms can easily turn into a big ole excursion. Roxy has embraced the farm life and was running around somewhere, covered in cow poop. Boots never strays too far from Paige, and as much as I hate to admit it, she smells WAY better than the dog! She is such a moody cat, but she has been really fun for Paige. Paige bosses it around and thinks it obeys her. Paige is turning into quite the little sass! Even the animals aren't immune.

 

These pictures were all taken last week. My mom and I were also present, but you would never know it. Paige was pretty sure it was ALWAYS Boppa's turn. My dad spoils her and I don't mind one bit. Honestly, that is his job! I have loved every minute of these adventures. I may shed a tear or two each time they end, knowing they are limited. Let's face it, I have been spoiled too.



So sweet.

Paige rode the carousel about 15 times and still pitched a fit when it was over. I may have to purchase the 75 ride pass twice this summer! Love that my baby loves horses of any kind. Last year she still needed help. This year she grabbed the reins and was ready to ride all on her own.

You won't find one picture of me and dolls as a young lass. Paige is quite the cute little mommy though. She has a whole bunch of friends she likes to take care of. Tonight she got to see a newborn up close and personal for the first time. She was pretty amazed by it, and pretty darn sweet as well. Paige has a very kind heart and is very good at sharing, giving kisses, and being soft. I fear that one day she will be more help than I would like!

Here Comes the Sun

I think my vacation mourning has officially ended. I am sure it has something to do with beautiful weather we have had lately, and I feel like we have been so busy, Mexico seems like another lifetime ago! Honestly, the days are flying by, and I usually have no idea what the actual date is. Then I have to write a check or something and each time I check the calendar, I gasp in amazement. Life truly has been a blur. I love it. I love having things to do, places to go, and people to see.

I have spent a lot of time lately working on adoption stuff, getting our profile up to date, calling agencies, looking for agencies. The works. It is insane how much time that takes. I like to feel like I am being proactive though. It scares me to death, and I fear putting ourselves out there. It is such an emotional roller coaster, and right now I am just in line...I am not even on the ride yet! I went to lunch today with a friend who has been trying to adopt for a year. She is honestly an inspiration to me, because she has had one rough road to get to where she is. She is one strong cookie and went through a lot of heartache, and that was before she even boarded the adoption train. I feel for her. We were beyond lucky and our first adoption was seamless. It set an unrealistic expectation almost. Sitting down with someone and hearing their story made me realize just how blessed we are. It also made me sad, there are a lot of good people out there who suffer with infertility---life just isn't fair, and I suppose it isn't supposed to be. This time of the year magnifies all these feelings. Mother's Day for the infertile is like Valentine's Day for single people, but ten times the hurt. Even though the days of empty arms are over, I can't forget all those feelings I used to associate with the day. I still have a hard time celebrating it or feeling like I have a place in it. The entire week my heart resides heavily with Paige's birthmom and the tremendous amount of debt I owe her. It is a happy, grateful feeling, but also overwhelming. I feel like I can never adequately express to her, or anyone for that matter, how immensely grateful I am. There are NO words. I also want to just hug all those I know who are still very lonely and sad on Mother's Day. I hurt for them and I think it makes it hard for me to be overly joyful. It is all just a lot for me, and I am grateful that it came and I could count my blessings and move on.

The best part of Mother's Day this year was the weather. The warmth and sunshine was fabulous. I swear warm sunshine cures all. Everything seems happier, easier, and more enjoyable. Even house cleaning is better in the summer. My attitude is infinitely improved. I even love the smell of summer. There are moments I sit outside and can't soak it all in fast enough. I must suffer from some disorder, because even though I can enjoy the moment, the next second I hyperventilate knowing it won't last long and I feel a sense of urgency to hang on hard! Seriously sad, like a PTSD --winter variety. It's a serious problem and lurks behind every joyful summer moment. There can never be enough nice days! These pictures are from our little nature excursion on Mother's Day. It is within walking distance from our house, and it feels like heaven. It seems like the leaves and greenery appeared overnight. How does it do that?! Like I said, I couldn't take it all in fast enough!

If only these pictures were scratch and sniff........

Paige loves being outside. We are constantly on the go. We love the park, we love playing in our yard of rocks, we love going on little nature walks. Paige loves when Mark takes her "farming". They have been irrigating lately and Paige loves being along for the ride. Mark and I were loading a trailer full of sprinkler pipe and Paige took all the ends and gathered them in a pile. They look kind of like her pitchers in her tea set, and she was "watering"  the hay with them, sound effects and all. She loves being a part of what we are doing, no matter what it is. We have been riding multiple times a week and it's been great. Paige now thinks she needs to hold the reins which makes the horse ride much more interesting.

 

Paige can and will swing for hours. I bundled her all up thinking it might be cool out, and I am pretty sure we were both overheating after awhile. It was great, love overheating!

This is my current favorite picture of Paige. She has cookie all over her face and she just radiates joy. I noticed the other day that she has a perfect little grey line down the middle of her front tooth. I am pretty up close and personal with her teeth, and it seriously showed up outta no where. I thought at first it was dirt since she still puts ridiculous things in her  mouth, but it won't come off. It looks like I drew on her tooth with a very fine point pencil. How weird is that? It is freaking me out, I don't want these pearly whites to die on me! This smile is priceless. She needs her baby teeth for a few more years. Any ideas out there? I am about ready to pack her up for the long haul to see her dentist uncle. It doesn't feel like a crack, but maybe? She is the queen of treats (no idea where that comes from.....) but would a cavity look like that? The front of her front tooth seems like a strange location. That spot gets the best brushing!

 

This makes me laugh because for whatever reason, laundry baskets are universally the best kid toy. I remember all sorts of uses for my mom's laundry baskets. Forts, cars, cradles, desks....limitless really. Paige has a slight obsession and I often find my clean laundry in awesome places like the garbage so that the basket is empty and ready for her use.

Totally not the best shot, but I live with a bunch of crazies. On one of our spectacular warm days without wind, I went out to water the horses and spoil them with unconditional love. Apparently the dog and the cat were pretty jealous and before I knew it, I had two extra heads competing for my attention. Roxy thinks she is a 60 lb lap dog. She likes to roll in poop and then lean up next to me. It's awesome.The cat is...well....a cat. Sorry Boots, but my love for cats is slightly conditional. Boots, however, won't take no for an answer and she is slightly aggressive about getting what she wants. The only one who didn't want me nearby was Paige. She was too busy putting rocks in the dog's water bowel and somehow my presence affects that negatively. "No Mom, Go away." Today when I dropped her off at my mom's so I could have my little lunch date, Paige dropped her head into her hands and sobbed. It was the first time I have seen her upset when I leave. She was pretty sad and told my dad, "Mom just drove away, I sad." Made me feel at least a little loved!

 

 

 

 

 



Still Mourning Warmer Weather

Life feels pretty slow lately, and I am trying to decide whether I like that or not. The last few days of warmer weather have been a huge blessing. Nothing like some sunshine to lift the spirits. Since coming home, we have had terrible weather--which is to be expected, but it was magnified after leaving paradise. The wind has been relentless, and Paige and I have felt very cooped up. Then to make things even more fabulous, Paige came down with the flu last week and life was awesome. I love a routine, but it lends itself to monotony, and then I look back at my days with disdain because life seems to be stuck. I suppose it is a love/hate relationship.  I love summer so much and wish we had more nice days. They feel invaluable! We have been out enjoying our backyard setting, the animals, and each other the last few days and it really has made all the difference.

Someone from our trip set up a community photo board, which has been awesome since Mark and I are terrible picture takers. I didn't want to take my phone on a lot of these excursions, so I was glad to see someone documented them for us. These next few were taken at a Mayan village. The Mayan descendants live there and have set up a few tourist type activities to make some money I guess. I didn't fully understand it. The government pays them to allow visitors into their village and homes. It is environmentally protected, and we couldn't even take sunscreen in that wasn't biodegradable.

This rock was about as high as a high dive, so not terrible scary, but it was so fun. The water was from an underground river and was crystal clear. It was so hot outside, and the water felt amazing.

An actual home. These people live a very primitive lifestyle. They grow their own food and raise their own animals. They have an average lifespan of 100 years due to their low stress, healthy eating habits. The village was so beautiful. I originally thought it was some sort of museum, like a Polynesian Cultural center type thing, but people actually live here like an Indian reservation, albeit quite different than any reservation I have ever seen. Our guide knocked on the door and our group of 40 invaded some poor guy's personal space. He was sleeping in his hammock before we all barged into his one room house.

This is literally all that was inside. To the right was 5 hammocks. They had three grocery sacks of food hung from the ceiling to keep animals out of it. It was crazy to see that people are able to live with so little, and honestly, it sounds like they are healthier and happier for it. With that being said, I don't know if I am ready to give up all my luxuries to join them.

The underwater river we explored. It was a fairly short tour, which was fine by me since the water was freezing. It was pretty eery to see some of the extremely deep crevices that extend to who knows where. Gave me a little bit of the heebie jeebies. Apparently all scuba diving is outlawed to prevent people from being trapped indefinitely. Can you imagine a worse way to go?!

This was the fanciest dinner of the whole trip, and my stomach was so not interested in the fancy food. I was sad things weren't more settled so I could attempt to enjoy my 200 dollar dinner.

Zip-lining at the Mayan Village. Too lazy to put these pictures in better order.

Mayan ruins at Tulum. It was SO hot. The top of my feet were sun-burnt, and it felt like we were walking on the sun. It was like 9 in the morning, and the sun was strong.  I can't remember feeling sushine so intense....ever. I'm not complaining, in awe really that places like that exist. A very fascinating place and I was glad we got to see it.

The beautiful beach at the base of the ruins, tempting the sweaty tourists.

And then we came home to the land of winter coats.

Boots the cat would rather be a dog. This cat is so annoying, but cracks me up at the same time. It follows us on every walk we go on. It loves attention at all times, and quite honestly, wants to cuddle more than any of us would like to. Boots is so darn pushy and will find any open lap. I have a hard time being mean to animals, so I usually give in and give it a pet or two before I want my personal space back. Paige feels the same way I do, but will tolerate the cat on her terms. Boots is pretty kind which makes her stay here tolerable. Fortunately she has become a little braver with the warmer temperatures, and has left the back porch to hunt for field mice, her real purpose on the farm.

The next picture deserves a little preface. In case you haven't been around me for at least ten seconds, you must know I am a worrier. I like to worry about any and all things. I sometimes enjoy blowing things out of proportion and losing sleep over them. I even like to ruin completely wonderful and exciting events by worrying. Sigh. Why do I do this? And now, to introduce Dee.

We have been wanting to get another horse for awhile for a few reasons. First, I wasn't about to go on family horse rides on one horse. Three is a crowd! Second, I love my handsome Scout dearly, but he is only 4. He has had months of training, but at the end of the day he is colt, and I haven't been riding in years---since massive horse death and the arrival of Paige. I need to regain some confidence for sure. The older I get, the more fearful I am and the less confident I feel. Paige makes that worse. I don't want her to get hurt, and I can't get hurt and take care of her. Regardless, I love horses, and I want to get over those fears and enjoy them. Riding a colt probably isn't the best way to overcome those things, so we were on the lookout for an older, broke, trust-worthy ride. Scout's trainer called us Friday and said he had come across a great mare. Mark hates paints and hates mares equally as much, so I was surprised he was interested at all, but we love our trainer and trust his judgement. We rode her Saturday morning and I really enjoyed her. She was so sweet, had an unbelievable trot, and was pretty responsive after basically sitting for a year. Dee has been ridden 3 times in the last year or two, and we were pretty impressed with her demeanor. Mark and I usually think about these big type of purchases far too long, and with other people wanting to come and ride Dee, we felt pressured and quickly agreed to take her home. I was SO excited....until we brought her to our house. She seemed like an entirely different horse to me. Blah.  I am unsure at this point as to what to think. I feel like she has potential, but I am not in a place where I can help her reach that. I feel like I want our trainer to put some time on her and iron out some issues, but I am anxious to have something to ride. I feel conflicted. For what we paid, I wish she was in a better place, but I also realize if she was there, she probably would have been even more expensive. It is also very possible I have jumped to some conclusions and the poor thing has gone through quite a bit of change and needs some time to get used to me and her new surroundings. I am a rough judge, I just want her to be perfect, that's all! I want Scout to be 13, broke and seasoned. I guess the jury is still out on Dee and if she can be that seasoned horse for me to gain some confidence and for Paige to learn on. It is a hard balance to find a horse that has enough life to be fun, energetic, and enjoyable, yet broke calm, gentle, and level headed. I feel like I am seeking a perfect balance that might not exist.  And there you have it, I have completely ruined a perfectly exciting event. Why can't I just be excited to have a beautiful new horse?

Paige and Grandma enjoying some nice weather. How grateful we are to have some fun days before Grandma leaves us. I am not ready for that!

Paige has more confidence than I do! The girl has no fear and LOVES to ride horses. She asks daily to ride and hates to get off. I love that she is fearless, and I feel sad for the day when she realizes there is plenty to fear(in all things) because it is inevitable. Fortunately, she is going to have a way stronger foundation than I did getting such an early start. Lucky lady that is for sure. Her dad is pretty great to come home after a long day and take her out.

 Pictures like these make me feel like super mom. I am not really great at the whole crafting thing. I am trying to be better and not care about the mess that crafting always results in. Extreme boredom has won out recently and desperation has cast all inhibitions aside. I just can't look as she mixes all the colors together to make a lovely shade of brown in every pod. I have to remind myself all things are washable, and paints come cheap. Sad that I have to talk through my perfectionism so my two year old can enjoy herself. The good news is I can, and Paige really loves to paint. It is always good to find another indoor activity to help pass the 335 days of crappy weather.

Last but not least, how grown up is she?! My little baby is just no longer a baby. She is a full blown, sassy toddler on the brink of potty training. I took a few random shots to send her birth mom and I was floored at how big Paige seemed. So bittersweet!

A few funny things she has said lately:

After a long potty session on her knew potty chair that ended in no success, Paige walked in on me and clapped and cheered as I did find success. I suppose she was listening to me after all. She is very good at telling me she has pooped  after I can smell her coming two rooms away. When I ask her where she should go, she always says "in the potty."

I picked her up from Kid's World at the gym the other day. I walked in and called for her. Paige ran out from the slide and yelled, "Do you hear that? It's my mom!" She asks me if I hear stuff multiple times a day.

After giving Mark "knucks" during the Sacrament, she calmly exclaimed "explode" as she retracted her open palm.

Post Vacation Syndrome

My house is a mess. There is a mile long list of things to catch up on, laundry to do, floors to mop, toilets to clean, and alas my will power died on vacation. It has been so hard coming back home and getting back into the swing of things. Mark and I knew we were headed to Mexico on an all-expense paid trip of spoils last September, and I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival. I worked out, I shopped, I stressed about what to wear to fancy dinners and cocktail hours, knowing I would stick out for not drinking and hoping to at least look like I belonged there somehow. And just like that.....it was all over in the blink of an eye. Even though I missed Paige terribly, this was the best vacation I had ever been on, EVER! It was such a blast. I met some amazing people, made new friends, and enjoyed a few days of heavenly bliss without a stress in the world. When someone else pays for your trip, it is just a million times more enjoyable. Mark golfed, I snorkeled, we canoed, zip-lined, para sailed, swam, explored ruins and underwater caves, ate, slept, pampered at the spa, walked in flour-like sand, and soaked up some rays. Fabulous. It was just fabulous. Mark has more pictures on his phone I have yet to transfer, so I hope to post those later on.

View from our hammock on our own private balcony

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3---getting the hint? I literally laid on these huge comfy beds on the beach for hours with my new gal pal Kasey. We sat there for hours while people brought  food and drink, fluffed my pillow, and then cleaned everything up. Mark would come home from the golfing and ask what I did. I responded with, "A whole lot of nothing." It was amazing.

Perfection

There was some sort of activity once a day, and since our hubby's wanted to golf most of the time, Kasey and I enjoyed jet skiing and snorkeling together. We had never jet skied before, and I am sure we were pretty awesome out there. I wish we would have seen more on the snorkel trip, but we did see a huge barracuda, some fish, and an octopus which I am still wondering if I actually managed to see. It was pretty camouflaged and even getting right up next to it I merely nodded my head to our guide that  I did in fact see it. 

When we got tired of beach side service, we would head over to the outside restaurant for some yummy fixings. My favorite food down there was at the resort. Breakfast was AMAZING. I don't even like breakfast, but it certainly hit the spot each day. We also loved the guacamole and shrimp tacos. Delicious.

Headed out for our first jet ski ride.

Waiting to para sail. We did this our last beach day, and I think Kasey grabbed some good action shots, I was too afraid to take my phone, and after taking the jet ski ride of death out to the boat, I was glad I left it on the beach. Tide was rolling in and we headed pretty far out to get to the boat. There were some pretty big swells that our little jet ski flew over. Being slightly afraid of the ocean, I feared for my life and got pretty up close and personal with our jet ski driver. Mark almost bounced off the back multiple times. I felt fortunate to be in the middle. It was way scarier than the actual para sailing portion of the trip. I needed to sign the waiver way before I got on the boat!

One of 5 fountains at the spa

The spa, where I spent 3 glorious hours. My contacts pretty much dried up on my eye balls and by the time I was done and taken out of my dark, music filled room into the bright sunshine, I hardly remembered my name. I could barely open my eyes, couldn't understand what my Spanish masseuse was saying, and had no idea what he handed me to drink. I am pretty sure he thought I was "special"  at that point as my face contorted to keep my lenses from falling out.

Entrance to our hotel. The grounds were unbelievable. It was set in a pretty dense jungle and the grounds were impeccable. The resort only has 60 total rooms and they were set apart from each other. It felt so quaint, quiet, and private. Each night they would light the paths connecting the rooms, pools and common areas with candles. I felt like a rich person for the week. It was other worldly for sure. Thanks Navex for the awesome trip and thanks Mark for working so hard and earning it. I am trying not to get excited about next year, but the Amalfi coast sounds amazing. C'mon Mark! You can do it!!!

The only downfall was leaving this little bug. She did great and split time at both grandparents'. I couldn't believe how much more she talked when I got home. She managed to learn sentences in the time I was gone. We were off the grid, and only had the capabilities to Facetime and only managed to hook up twice while we were gone. It felt strange to feel so disconnected! Paige gave me the world's greatest hug when I got home, which made up for the 50 degree temperature drop, at least temporarily:)

Paige was super excited about "Hop" this year. She calls all bunnies "Hop" and after meeting the Easter Bunny at the grocery store, she was elated he was going to come to her house. She only left the grocery store after reassuring her he would come visit that night. When Mark woke her up for the church the next morning and asked her who came, she emphatically declared "Hop!!" I was surprised she connected it all and remembered it. She wasn't as excited about picture taking, and has a mouth full of treats in this shot, but I had to document her adorable Easter outfit.

Paige loved finding candy filled eggs. It's fun to see her grow up and be able to participate in things. Maybe next year we will try the whole egg dye thing, and be as excited about Jesus as we are about "Hop."

Paige loves to be outside and loves to go for walks. This is basically in our backyard and these two gals couldn't be any happier about it. I have concluded that warm weather is a special gift for moms! I am looking forward to a summer of outdoor adventures.

Paige is growing up so fast and makes us laugh everyday. Here are a few things she has said lately:

While on a walk, "Hey, do you hear that? Listen......it's a plane!" Very serious

After our trip and spending one night in my company, she took a break from breakfast to say, "Hey, you know what? We should go to Mammas (grandma's)" Ya I know, Grandma is way cooler.

While at Mamma and Boppa's....She told Boppa to "follow me" and proceeded to put him in "time out, where he had to "stay and be nice"

Paige takes good care of her baby and had changed its diaper, read it a story, and put it to bed. In the morning while eating breakfast at Boppa's, she stood up with a start and said, "Oh no! My baby is still sleeping!"

We took Paige with us to watch Scout be shod and then  to a horse sale. Paige was pretty upset both times that she couldn't ride. When I asked her if she had fun at the horse sale, she said "no, it was boring, I wanna ride"

In the car seeing a sign that had blown down, Paige with disgust said, "Oh man!"

Was upset about needing to say goodbye to Mamma and Boppa and going to bed. Mamma told her it was time for them to go home because Boppa needed to go to bed. Paige marched upstairs to retrieve Boppa and told him, "you need to go to bed Boppa"

Paige is the most animated little thing and cracks me up with her facial expressions and attitude. She is growing up too fast.

In other news, we have completed our home study and we are now waiting for it to be submitted to the state for approval. It should be about two weeks. Now it really is a waiting game, which honestly is the hardest part. I need to start getting our profile and scrapbook stuff done, but once that is done, I feel like it is largely out of our hands and will be relinquishing our control a bit and putting faith in charge. I am still trying to decide how active I want to be in marketing and networking ourselves. That part of the adoption process makes me squirm. So many mixed emotions on that one! I know it really is the only way to get the word out and advertising is a big deal, but it is so against my personality. Not to mention it scares me a bit in multiple ways. Sigh. We shall see I guess.



"These are the days of OUR lives....."

It has been so long since my last post. It seems like we have been so busy, but nothing worthy of a blog update. I suppose it has been a case of writer's block. My blog serves as my journal, and I need to realize it doesn't always have to be breaking news, just things I want to make sure I remember, especially things about Paige. She is growing up so fast and her personality is bursting at the seams. She is definitely turning two which has been a challenge, but it has also been a really fun age. She never ceases to make me laugh.

We have had some issues with the furnace in our new house. Nothing major, the filters need to be cleaned more often since everything is new. We learned this the hard way, but going a few days without a good heat source has motivated Mark to be on top of the situation. Paige loves to go down in the crawl space with Dad and help. I am sure she was her usual helpful self and made the job a million times harder, but you couldn't ask for a cuter helper!

My parent's have been cleaning house and getting rid of things left and right in preparation for their mission. My dad has been called as a mission president in the Rancho Cucamonga California mission. This is a brand new mission, and my dad will be the first mission president. They are pretty excited, but nervous as well. I told my dad he has to pay for Paige's counseling because she will miss him and grandma terribly. Anyway, back to the story. This lovely dragon was on the top of the DI pile and Paige was awfully confused as to why such an item was considered unwanted. She saved the dragon and it has been a best friend ever since. After packing it around the house for a few days, she insisted on it riding in the car with her. I was happy to get it outta the house, and it has now become her full time car buddy. It is from Lagoon and smells bad and is in no way soft and cuddly. We hit up Burger King drive thru for a quick lunch and they gave Paige a crown. As we were driving home, I glanced in my rear view mirror and had to pull over to take a picture. It was too funny. She had staged this entirely on her own. It made me laugh out loud!

Paige is a big animal lover. I am glad I now have a partner in crime. Mark has more of the farm approach to animals. Paige and I tend to be more loving and humanizing of the pets. Roxy is the best dog, she is so so sweet. Paige can be a little nervous around her sometimes, usually when Roxy is excited about playing. I am sure it is because they are essentially eye level with each other. Roxy wouldn't hurt a fly. In fact, she lets the cat eat her food and drink her water. If Roxy is distracted and not in a licking position, Paige loves to give her cuddles. I also like that Roxy raided the diaper pail and Paige's diapers are in the background. The silly dog doesn't do anything besides cart them around. A strange hobby for sure!

Paige gets really excited about the cat. I think she finds Boots more entertaining than Roxy. As Boots has gotten older, she has been forced out into the world as a barn cat. She still gets spoiled and spends a lot of time in the garage, but I would like her to become the mouser she was destined to become. Boots isn't nearly as interested in her new calling and spends most of the time  meowing for attention. Paige is happy to oblige. Boots won't let Paige pack her around anymore, but is still a pretty nice kitty. If we ever speak in person, remind me to tell you more about Boots the cat. It really is quite the story.

 

The past month has been pretty busy. After visiting with LDS Family Services and realizing how busy they are, we felt we needed to get our home study done independently, or wait months. I wasn't willing to do that, so we found a really great social worker who has been a real go-getter. We called her up, and she immediately got the ball rolling. We went from zero to sixty in a matter of moments. As of now, we are just a few weeks away from being home study approved. We are waiting for some references, Mark's medical clearance, and our second home visit which is currently being scheduled. I am so happy with our progress, but know that once it is done, the real waiting game begins. At least when you are actively working on something, you feel like you have some control over the situation. With LDS Family Services so busy, I just feel like our chances with them are not looking promising. I have been researching agencies and other avenues, and it is so frustrating. Agency adoptions are SO expensive and some of them require some ridiculous hoops to jump through. I hope and pray that a miracle will happen, and maybe by letting everyone we know we are hoping to adopt, someone will know someone who is wanting to place. Please keep us in mind if you come across a situation. We are really just a few weeks out from being ready to go!

 

Mark had a business trip this week,  I decided to go to Utah for a girl's shopping trip with Paige's birth family. I was SO excited and had been looking forward to it for a few weeks. We haven't seen them for a few months, and it was going to be great. Thursday was  a busy day getting all the housework done so we could all come home to a clean house. It always seems like a ton of work to get Paige ready for a trip, so Thursday felt like a big run around day. Fortunately, Paige was in a playful mood and entertained herself quite nicely. Here are a few pictures of what she did Thursday:

Put almost every stuffed animal she owned down for a nap. I love how tenderly she stuck these in the crib. I found this after I put Paige down for a nap. Cracks me up.

She has loved playing play dough lately, and we get all the cookie cutters out since I can't really make anything with play dough unless assisted by a cookie cutter. She loves this bear one, and I have found it in some interesting places. She placed it this day on the window next to our front door. Hmmmmm, no idea why.

These are some heart "cookies" I made out of play dough for her. We had been setting them on her tea set plates and setting them on the table. She thought this idea was much better. Boots was on the back porch and I think she was trying to share.

I heard her closing and opening drawers in my bathroom, she came out later to show me she had done her own hair with one of my headbands. I wear a headband everyday to the gym, and I have ruined her into thinking they are cool Not cool or cute, just necessary Paige! She makes it look pretty good though if I do say so myself. And I was relieved to see that with all the options she had available in my bathroom drawer, she picked a headband.

 

Like I said, this was all on Thursday. After getting everything done and the car packed, we were ready for our girl's trip. The week seemed so long, and Paige had been so ornery most of the time; I was ready for a break! Paige has had a cough, and when I got her up for the day, she coughed with a mouth full of milk and puked all over me. I had gotten all ready for the day and was stoked about having to change and re-do my hair. I should have taken this as an omen, but decided it was a fluke since she pretty much does this all the time, and I rushed to get on the road, even if we were already behind an hour. The roads were fine until we got to Blackfoot. Blizzard conditions made for a scary drive. I was scared stiff, especially after passing a turned over RV, a semi in the median, and a 7 car crash. I called my mom to see if the roads were supposed to be this bad the entire time. As I was talking to her, the sun came out and things seemed to get better so thinking I had survived the worst, I excitedly pressed on. Not 10 minutes later Paige starts to cry, I thought it was because her DVD had ended. I glance in the rear view mirror just in time to see her barf all over the back seat. No small amount. Ughhhhh. We pulled off the interstate and I crawled back into the worst mess ever. Fortunately I had lots of wipes and extra clothes that we supposed to be for our over night stay. Not knowing if the roads were gonna get better, or if Paige was gonna throw up again, I decided it would be best to turn around and throw in the towel. I was so disappointed! And, I now had to drive back through the blizzard. Needless to say it was quite the field trip to Fort Hall, and it took me HOURS to de-barf the car. The worst day! Just to make the blown weekend even better, Mark got stuck in Denver and still isn't home! A full day later than he planned on being home. By some miracle, he is finally on his way back and should be back tonight. Wahoo!

 

We are so ready for spring around here, and even though the weather this week has stunk, Paige and I were stir crazy and had to get out. We took Roxy for an hour walk and had a great time. I had two happy kids on my hands, and I successfully wore them both out. I am anxious for warm weather and the opportunity to get out more.

We were all sorts of muddy, wet, and stinky when we got home, but it was worth it!

 

With the somewhat warmer temperatures, birds have been invading our space. I feel like our backyard is becoming our own nature reserve. We have had tons of deer(I realize these aren't birds), flocks of geese, huge cranes, and even some swans this week. For a few days, our trees in the front yard were swarmed with these little black birds. I first heard them from inside and couldn't figure out what the strange sound was. They seriously make a deafening roar. It is unbelievable! I had to take a video just to document how loud they were. It was seriously eerie and all sorts of Alfred Hitchcock. If they started flying into the windows I am pretty sure I would have freaked!

 Insane right?!