Aunt Chelsea Got Married!!!!

On Saturday February 16 Aunt Chelsea and Russell Parrish made it official at the Timpanogos Temple and became Mr. and Mrs. Parrish!!!  They are one of those couples that aren't just in love, but are meant for each other.  It was an honor to be there with them as they tied the knot.

Ruby was an adorable little flower girl.  She and the other flower girl, Maddy (Russell's niece), hit it off right away.  After the luncheon/family reception she begged us to let her get on a plane so she could go to Maddy's house (in New Orleans, LA) for a play date.

Too bad Wyatt wouldn't ditch his sippy cup for the picture...

One of the most beautiful wedding cakes ever.  This picture doesn't do it justice.

 Chelsea could have been a bridal model and the reception was lovely-- totally lovely.  We wish them all the happiness and success in the world.  We're sad that they'll be heading off to NY in the end of April. Hopefully, they'll find their way back to Utah in a few years...

The sign is hard to read, but it says "Wedding Party."  Pulling them in the wagon was part of my plan for keeping the kids entertained while waiting around and taking pictures on the temple grounds.

Reoccurring Dream

Lately I've been dreaming about returning to teaching.  Like, a lot.  Sometimes a few times a week.  It's weird, because when I was teaching in the public schools I loved my job about 80% of the time.  When I quit just 3 years into my career I was burnt out and didn't know if I'd ever want to return to the profession.  In fact, for years I've frequently thought about what type of career change I'd like to make when my kids got older and didn't need me around as much.  I could never settle on anything, though.  And as I've spent time raising my kids and teaching the children in primary at church I've come to realize that teaching is my "calling."  I truly love it.  Teaching makes my soul feel good and I recognize that now--it has just taken me a few years to get to that point.  With age comes self discovery (and grey hairs, dang it!)
Here's what I miss about teaching: the creative and organizational parts, watching a child understand something and make a connection or discovery, planning, playing, and I especially miss those sticky hands and goofy smiles.  I don't miss the long meetings, the testing pressure, the late nights grading papers, and teacher gossip/drama. Nor do I miss the stigma (It's women's work. It's the only thing we encourage girls to do.  It's an easy job.  blah, blah, blah...)
So.... why am I writing all of this down?  Well, I kind of had an "ah-ha" moment.  I think I'd like to get back into the profession by starting a small home preschool program.  It would be a way to fulfill my inner need to teach and still have the flexibility of being a stay-at-home-mom (which has always been my number one dream).  I could arrange my schedule in such a way that I'd still be available to volunteer in my children's classrooms, be home when they get home from school, be around to drive them to after school activities, have time for the gym (which is key to my sanity), and running errands.
I'm thinking that I'd start out with a co-op program to test the waters and when I feel ready and am able to make a bigger commitment start my own neighborhood program slowly.  The first year I'd probably just do a 2 day a week program and then the second year I'd add in a 3 day a week program or second 2 day a week program.
I'm still working out the details, but the more I think about it the more excited I get.  I think I'm on to something good here...

Annual Birthday Pictures

Babies grow up all too quickly.  I don't want to miss documenting a single stage of their little lives, that's why I make sure to take milestone pictures.  I have a set of pictures for both Ruby and Wyatt as newborns and then every 3 months after that (for the first year).  From 2 years and up I take yearly birthday pictures. When they're school age I'll probably start using school pictures at that point.

Ruby, age 4

Wyatt, age 2-- working on his Abercrombie and Fitch portfolio

Anyway, here's the latest installment of milestone pictures.  I went to a local studio called Foto Fly.  Spoiler alert: They are darling!  If I could just freeze my kiddos forever at this age I would.  Watching them play during this photo shoot was a wonderful memory in itself.  They love each other and these pictures show it.  So glad I have them.

2 peas in a pod

One of my favorites...

super sassy

Look at those cheeks-- just want to squeeze 'em!

Sooooooo cute!

Hello, handsome.

Best buddies

Possibly one of my favorite pictures of them together EVER.

tiny dancer

Welcome to the boardroom.

Super sweet girl

Such a little man

Such a little lady

Love those nails

Around the House

It's been awhile since I included a little house update.  From the end of December to the first part of February we're pretty much in party mode since it's the Linford holiday season (multiple Christmases, anniversary, new years, Jenn's birthday, Ruby's birthday, and Wyatt's birthday), but I also managed to squeeze in a few projects here and there.

We FINALLY replaced the dated low light chandelier in our entryway.  I actually ordered a new chandelier in October, but it kept getting back ordered; so in late December I picked out a different one (and made sure it was in stock).  And wouldn't it be just my luck that our final 2 light bulbs burned out 3 weeks before it was delivered and installed?  Now when we turn on the lights it feels like noon in our entryway-- we went from a 6 light 40 watt bulb fixture to a 9 light 75 watt bulb fixture.  Loving it!

The old beastly light. I put it up for sale online.  I can't imagine why no one made an offer. lol

The new fixture.  I should really get a better picture of it...

I also got around to ordering and assembling some barstools for our kitchen.  Originally, I wanted something fresh and modern like these from Crate and Barrel or these from Ikea, but settled on these from Walmart because they fit under my countertop nicely and don't impede the pathway to the door.  Oh, and they were also like $24 a piece-- woot!  I do think that when I repaint the basement I'm going to get a pair of the stools I really love for the bar down there.  That's a summer project, though...

I decided that I needed artwork in my kitchen.  I whipped together some bright paint chip renderings and selected a favorite piece from Ruby's preschool portfolio, but I'm not in love with how it has come together.  I bought black frames with white mats because the wall mirrors our gallery wall in the family room, but it feels too jarring in our white kitchen.  So, I think that I'll move all 5 frames down to the basement this summer after I'm done painting down there and find some more traditional pieces to put in either white or metallic frames.  For now, they're staying.

Close up of the paint chip artwork

Temporary kitchen artwork 

 Nearly 2 years after moving in I finished decorating Wyatt's room. Surely, someone else has taken longer than that to finish a nursery, right?  My mom helped me recover an old antique foot stool that was in terrible condition.  We sanded and re-stained the legs, tightened the the strings, and replaced the fabric.

My recovered footstool- love

 I also added a few canvases that I covered in fabric left over from his quilt.

Fabric canvases

That's right-- I finished his quilt!  I bought the fabric a few weeks before he was born.  When it became apparent that he no longer needed a baby quilt my mom helped me choose some additional fabric and adjust the quilt pattern so that it would be big enough for a twin size bed.  It was supposed to be part of his birthday present, but it is still at the quilter's house being stitched together.  Better late than never... I'm really excited about it, though.  The colors co-ordinate well with Ruby's big girl quilt that I made her, so when they eventually share a room I'll buy them matching white duvets and they can each fold there quilts (who am I kidding-- wad their quilts) at the end of the beds and it will look adorable!

The expedit bookcase that needs a little love.  Ignore the laundry basket.  It was laundry day.

Lastly, I moved our ikea expedit bookcase into the family room and bought some baskets for the bottom shelf to hide toys and diapers.  It is so practical and helps the room feel more complete, but I still haven't gotten around to decorating the top (nearly 3 months later).  That's probably my decorating Achillie's heel-- vignettes.  I need one of my girlfriends like Lesley Larson or Jamie Curran to come help me out!

And that's about all I accomplished over the Linford holiday season.  Next up: curtains for the office (I'm just waiting for this fabric to go on sale) and new pillows for the couch.

Baby Birthday Boy

On Thursday Wyatt celebrated his second birthday.  I can hardly believe how quickly he has grown up on us!  It's well documented that birthdays are kind of a big deal around here.  Here's how we lived it up on our little cowboy's special day:

Per tradition, we woke him up by singing "Happy birthday" and taking the first picture of the day.  He was a little less thrilled about this than his sister was last week.  At any rate, these pictures are priceless and next year I'm sure he'll be more excited about it.

Breakfast with friends.  Wyatt likes to cart his friends around the house with him.

After he tore a piece of paper off he'd hand it to me and say "trash."

Clearly, he was very excited about these pirate toys.

We dined on pancakes for breakfast and opened up gifts before Daddy had to leave for work.  Wyatt got 2 great lego duplo sets from Papa Gary, some Jake and the Neverland Pirates toys from Mommy and Daddy, and Ruby picked out some power tools for him to use at his workbench.  Oh, and we bought him socks.  Don't laugh-- he LOVES them!

And that's about as good as it gets for a group picture with a 2 year old.

Daddy also measured his height on the wall in our closet (a new tradition that we just started this year). If the theory is true that you double a child's height at 2 years to get an approximate adult height poor Wyatt will only be about 5'7".  So, let's hope the theory is wrong...

This little one loves balloons!

After our morning activities we went to the gym and stopped by the dollar store on the way home so that Wyatt could pick out a birthday balloon.  Then we had lunch and rest time.

Daddy got home early so that we could take the family to the aquarium.  Our little dude loves sharks, so we thought that it would be an appropriate way to celebrate his birthday.  It turns out that the sting ray petting pool now has a shark in it, so Wyatt actually got to pet a shark!  He couldn't get enough of it.  He kept begging for more.

"More!"

Sadly, this is my only picture with the birthday boy.  He can be quite wiggly.

On the way home we ate dinner at Sweet Home Chicago Pizzeria (our favorite).  After dinner Grandma Mimi and Grandma Dona joined us for cupcakes and ice cream.  They, of course, came bearing presents.  He especially loved the remote control dump truck they brought and the pack of brand new play dough.  In fact, he loved it so much that we had to sit down at the table and play with it before bedtime.

Shark paarrrrrty!

Shark cupcakes-- yummy!

He also really like the anywhere chair Grandma got him-- now he and Ruby both have one!

It was a great celebration for a great little boy.

I captured this picture the day after his birthday.  He found a way to enjoy the pirates and the remote controlled dump truck at the same time.

 He is such a fun addition to our family.  We love everything about our little red-headed heart breaker-- his desire to organize/clean, his love of socks and pirates and dinosaurs and sharks, his ability to sit and listen to stories, even his need to knock down lego towers, but especially his endless kisses and snuggles.  He is one of a kind-- and we're so glad that he's ours!