Dress ups

I loved playing dress ups as a child . . . I still do actually. Whether for myself or my girls, I love any occasion that calls for ribbons and curls.

My sister-in-law Katie Weston, celebrated her birthday last week. This is the second year that she has held a tea party in her honor. I love it! And what's a tea party without hats? Katie inherited these vintage numbers from her grandmother. So fun.
Back row L to R: My mother-in-law Barbara, sisters-in-law Katie and Diane Weston, and Elyse.
Front row: me and Ivy.

Millie went to a friend's birthday party a few weeks back. I thought she looked so cute (ignore the weird smile). And I just love those gold sandals.

This was a Sunday afternoon in our backyard. I thought Millie and I looked like twinners, so I wanted to get our picture together. She was trying to put her hand on her hip like me, but didn't quite make it. LOL. Millie is such a sweetheart. (You can't tell in this picture, but my shirt is purple and one of my favorites.)

Oh, this is totally unrelated but I wanted to share a funny thing Millie said this morning. I had put my hair in a ponytail and Millie was asking me about it, and then told me, "You look so stylish." It sounded so stink'n' cute coming from a 3-year-old!

Seven Random Things

My sweet cousin Heather just tagged me to tell seven random things about myself. So here it goes:
1. I love to shop. For the house, for me, for my girls, for my husband, for anyone I can possibly think of who needs a gift . . . yeah it can get a little out-of-hand some times.
2. I studied Spanish for 5 years and now rarely find opportunities to use it. Isn't that sad. And not only did I study it, but I was pretty good too. I got good grades and compliments from my Mexican-born profesora! I think I really would have enjoyed a foreign exchange to Spain, or serving a Spanish-speaking mission.
3. I am a chocolate lover!
4. Two of my best friends live on the other side of the globe. Maria Bergane from Norway and I met in high school when she was a foreign exchange student. And Melanie Rauscher from Germany, lived with my family during her senior year of high school and my freshman year at Snow College. I wish I could go visit them all the time. It's just so expensive. But in reality we're only a phone call (or an email) away :) I also have several other wonderful friends from around the globe.
5. After giving birth to Millie I lost 30 pounds in addition to my pregnancy weight. I was happy but it was sad that I couldn't wear a lot of clothes that I loved.
6. I am a paranoid driver. I always think other drivers are cussing me because of the stupid things I do (i.e. not turning when I obviously had enough time). So I'm always saying "sorry" and Millie asks me, "Why you say sorry?" She thinks I'm crazy too.
7. I am a quality-time girl. If you don't know what I'm talking about you have to read "The Five Love Languages," by Gary Chapman. It's genius! Anyway, I basically feel loved when people hang out with me, or make an effort to spend time with me.
Love you all. And now I guess I tag 7 people. I tag Hayley, Katie M., Marcee, Joni, Traci, Diane and Julia.

My Grandma Nora

I failed to mention that my sister's baby was named after our 97-year-old paternal grandmother Nora Rust Mickelson. Baby Nora is my Grandma's 101 or 102 great-grandchild and the first to carry her name. Probably because Grandma used to threaten anyone who considered using the name, since she never liked it while growing up -- silly Grandma. But now that someone has defied her wishes, she doesn't think it's so bad. She was thrilled to meet her namesake and told Alexis that she was flattered.
My grandma is an amazing woman. She's such a hard worker and a devoted disciple of Christ. I hope I grow up to be just like her.
Baby Nora's middle name, Jane, is also my mother's middle name and my maternal grandmother's middle name and the middle name that all my sisters and myself wanted as a child since none of us had a middle name.

Nora Jane Dase

My sister Alexis gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday. Nora Jane Dase was born at 2:13 p.m., weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 21 and 1/2 inches long. It was a bit of a traumatic birth. Nora was partially posterior, with the cord around her neck and her hand on her throat - choking herself with each contraction! She was blue at first, but is doing much better now.

Look at this chubby kid. She sure is cute. I think she looks a lot like her daddy. Can't wait to meet her. Congratulations, Alexis and Brandon.

What a night!

Last night (around 2:30 a.m.) Millie woke up with a scream and started crying. When I went to get her she was terrified and told me that she "heard the wicked witch." (I guess she won't be watching Snow White again for a while.) After calming her down, I put her back in bed. But minutes later the smoke detector started beeping with a low battery and scared her again. So Mark got her and put her in our bed, and then the noise woke up Ivy, so Mark brought her to me as well, while he went and took down the smoke detector and took out the battery then he got back in bed with us. Millie was really cute and snugly and kept saying the cutest things (of which I can't remember because of the hour). I remember telling her that she was cute and she replied "I know I'm cute." Then Millie decided she was hungry so Mark took her down to the kitchen for "breakfast." It was pretty funny. I think we were all finally back to sleep by 4 a.m. What a night!

Baby Gunnell

Mark's sister Julia and her husband Ryan had their first baby over the weekend! Cooper Ryan Gunnell was born in Georgia at 12:08 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19. He weighed 8 lbs. 8 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long.

Grandma Barbara flew out to help. She says Cooper has Julia's nose and lips, and has big hands! I assume those are from Ryan.

Mom and baby are home and doing well. Congratulations you guys. Cooper looks so precious! I can't wait to meet him!

Apple Days

So while Mark was riding his bike to Jackson Hole, I was trying to enjoy the weekend's festivities in town. I took the girls to Apple Days here in River Heights. It would have been a lot more fun if Mark had been here to help, but we made the most of it without him.Millie enjoyed getting candy at the parade, but she thought she had to eat each piece as she picked it up. She didn't grasp the concept of collecting it for later.

Hailey is our next-door-neighbor and such a good friend to Millie.

Here is River Heights City float and royalty. I help with the Miss River Heights pageant each spring, so it's fun to see the girls out and about during the summer. I did not, however, help with the float, so it's not my fault the girls' dresses don't match the magic carpet :)

At the park they had a number of festivities including pony rides. This pony's name was Sunshine. She/he had a bit of an attitude . . . perfect for Millie.

As you can see, Millie rides like a pro. That's because this is her third pony ride of the summer, but unfortunately the first one we actually got a picture of.

Apart from the tantrums and the head/backaches of taking two kids to a festival by myself, I tried to have a good time. I thoroughly enjoyed a caramel apple and two bites of Millie's sugar cookie . . . mmm.