Exhausted

I am in need of some major rest and relaxation. Over the last week, I have:

• Mopped, vacuumed, and deep cleaned our house twice
• Painted a bathroom with three coats of paint
• Gone to JoAnn's 6 times, Heartland Paper 3 times, Walmart 3 times, Bed, Bath, and Beyond 2 times, Ikea, Carter's, The Children's Place, and Robert's
• Helped measure, cut, and pin fabric for 13 separate window treatments and hung them on our windows
• Washed, folded, and put away 8 loads of laundry
• Gone to my yoga class
• Hosted my parents for a week who drove here from Michigan
• Celebrated both of my parents' birthdays, including going out to dinner for my dad and throwing a surprise party for my mom
• Consoled a teething, learning-to-pull-himself-up-on-everything nine month old, who also surprised me with several 4:30am and 5:30am wake-up calls, leaving me with 4 to 5 hours of sleep
• Gone visiting teaching and was visited by my visiting teacher
• Attended the Relief Society General Broadcast
• Baked brownies and corn bread for my family and cookies for the families Troy home teaches
• Updated Blake's baby calendar
• Gotten the late-night sillies with my mom
• Met friends for lunch at Gardner Village
• Pulled all of the weeds and dead flowers from our garden

and

• Battled bronchitis the whole time. I finally went to the doctor and got on an antibiotic today since I have had a deep cough and no voice for over 3 weeks.

Usually I thrive on productivity, but I have to say, even I am burned out after a week like this!

Surprise

We surprised my mom with a 50th birthday party while my parents were visiting us. Her birthday isn't for another month, but since she figures out everything, we had to be very tricky. It was difficult for us to get her out of the house before the party (so that we could set up and guests could arrive). Luckily, we pulled it off without her having even an inkling of a clue as to what was going on. It was really fun to host our first party at our house, and the best part was I didn't have to do any of the cooking. My dad was here to whip up his famous backyard barbecue and prepare an awesome feast. I am happy to do the party planning, organizing, and decorating anytime if I don't have to plan the food.

The birthday girl blew out her candles.

The party also served as a Michigan reunion for friends that used to live in Michigan and now live in Utah. Some girls that I grew up, Kourtni, Alyssa, Jessica, and Sarah, came with their fiancés, husbands, and babies. My mom was friends with all of their parents, but it was still fun for her to see my generation of friends .

The over-fifty girls.

The babies; Kylie, Blake and Thad (notice the hand holding).

Blake and Thad enjoyed being on the hammock. Except Blake kept trying to crawl away and especially liked rolling over on Thad and touching his eyes and face.

So sweet.

It was a really fun night and we feel pretty heroic for actually surprising my all-knowing mom. We will have to do another Michigan reunion soon.

Toofers

Just in: Blake is getting his first tooth. You may have to zoom in to see it, but the tooth bud is there!

He hasn't been too cranky and is still sleeping pretty well, however, the one problem we are having is the wrestling matches that occur during meals. Blake bites down with his tooth on the spoon, making the food splatter everywhere as I wrestle with him with every bite.

Yoga

I have always wanted to become a yoga instructor. I found my first student.

Downward Facing Dog.

Hip Opener.

Happy Baby.

Cobra.

Cow pose.

Plank.

Forward Lunge.

Triangle Pose.

Forward Fold.

Spinal Twist.

Namaste.

Trebeck Visitors

My friend Becky is getting married in six weeks. I am so happy for her. She is my longest friend and is like a sister to me. Her fiancé, Trevor, is perfect for her. They came up to stay with us this weekend and we had a great time playing games, wedding planning, and reminiscing about our crazy "younger" years.

I took some engagement photos of them while they were here since everything is dry and brown in Arizona (where they are from). I am no photographer by any means, but I think a few of the pictures turned out really cute.

Uh oh

Look what Blake learned how to do:

He won't crawl on the ground, but he'll crawl up the stairs. Go figure.

Nine Months

Blake has now been out as long as he was in my tummy. 

He is a little peanut and is constantly in motion. Here are some clips to show Blake and his energetic personality at nine months.

We're Back

We finally have our Internet connected. I've been going crazy. It's amazing how much I rely on the Internet. In some ways, it has been nice to not have the temptation there to waste time surfing, but I have needed so much information this past month and a half that I usually always go online to find. For example:

• What are the phone numbers/locations of essentials in our new town? (I whipped out the dusty yellow pages on many occasions)
• What in the world do I do with these gigantic saggy sunflowers that are growing all over our yard?
• What is our bank account balance?
• How do I pay our online bills?
• Where can I find cute lamp shades?
• How do I know what is good brand of lawnmower/weed wacker?
• What do I do about my baby's slight fever?
• Which hospitals in the area will accept our insurance?
• How can I get my online Babies R' Us, Robert's Crafts, and Hobby Lobby coupons?
• What is the menu for a particular restaurant in our town?
• What gym can we join that will have childcare, enabling us to work out together?
• How can I change our mailing address with insurance companies, bank accounts, etc. without the web?

It's official. I am completely addicted to and reliant on the Internet. I didn't realize how much I use it, and not just for the perks of email and blogging, but for really useful information. So, I am happy to be connected back to the world again. I hope to not waste too much time online though. I've really enjoyed having spare minutes to focus on setting up our house and get organized over the last month.