Trip to Colorado

Cosette and I took a trip to Colorado last month to go to the wedding of my former college roommate and very good friend, Karen Palmer (now Karen Schmidt).
Here are Karen and Martin coming out of the temple. Aren't they just glowing?
Here are a few pictures on the temple grounds.
Here are the newlyweds with Karen's sister Ruth and her family. They actually drove out from Utah with their newest edition to the family - he was only 1 1/2 weeks old at the time. I'm very impressed they made it.
What a good big brother!
Here's the cute outfit that Cosette wore for the wedding. (I'm not sure why the website turned the picture sideways...)
Cosette fell asleep on the car ride from the temple to the luncheon at Olive Garden.
She woke up before the luncheon was over, however. Here's Karen's grandma holding Cosette while I got ready to feed her.
They let Cosette play with Karen's train. I thought it made a really cute picture.
Let me just share a few more tidbits. Karen's family arranged for me to stay at the home of someone in their ward. This couple was actually on vacation, so they left a key with the Palmers. The first night I was there it was just me and Cosette. When we got to the house that night it was really hot because the air was off. I turned the air on, but it was taking a while to cool things down. Since there was no one else in the house and it was really stuffy, I was just wearing my garments as I got ready for bed.
Well, someone rang the bell to the front door. I had no intention of answering it because I wasn't clothed, and I didn't live there. The bell only rang once, so I ignored it. Well, a few minutes later I thought I could hear someone moving around downstairs. Needless to say, I was a little creeped out. So I crept out to the landing and looked down the stairs, but all of the lights were still off down there and I couldn't see anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I checked, so I called out "Is anyone there?" and turned on the lights on the stairs.
Well, a man came walking around the corner to the bottom of the stairs and I yelled and darted back to the bedroom (mind you, I was still only wearing my garments). He yelled too and ran back out of sight. My heart was pumping pretty fast, let me tell you.
Fortunately, he called an apology up the stairs for scaring me and explained that he was their son-in-law. He was there to drop off a car that he was borrowing. He had been told that there would be someone staying there and rang the bell to let me know he was coming in, but I hadn't answered the door.
Whew! I was both relieved and a bit embarrassed. But it sure makes a good story!
The other two nights were much less eventful. And I was joined by Janene, another former roommate. It was fun having some girl talks late at night. I'm also grateful that Janene took a lot of pictures - most of them on this post are from her camera.
Overall it was a good trip and I'm really glad we went.

Life is Good

What a cutie! Cosette still can't quite sit up on her own yet, so I like to prop her up on the couch in between the cushions.
Below is a more serious face. I'm always trying to catch her smiling, but I like this shot, too.
I just had to share a bathtub hair picture. Cosette LOVES her bath time. She usually cries when I take her out. And don't you love her beautiful red eyes? She definitely gets that from her momma. Can you see why I like to take pictures without flash whenever possible?
Cosette has had a few firsts recently. Last week she rolled over from back to front for the first time (but there have been no repeat performances).
This week she got her first tooth. It's barely poking through and is quite sharp to the touch (she really loves sucking on my fingers).
I've actually been dreading the "teething stage," but she's done just fine so far. If anything, she's actually been happier the past couple of days.
Here's a video I think you'll enjoy. I love her laugh! And she's laughing a lot easier these days, which is a lot of fun for Jeff and I.

Well, overall life is good. I really love being a stay-at-home mom.
Lately I've been working on organizing and cleaning. I made a list of things I want to do on a weekly basis, and another list of things I want done on a monthly basis. I then sit down and plan out each week (I used to have set days to do things, but I found that too rigid and difficult on weeks when I needed to run errands or go to the doctor). I use a weekly organizer that goes on my fridge to keep track of my to do lists. I usually end up with 3-4 tasks for each day, a mixture of weekly and monthly tasks.
I've felt a real sense of accomplishment being able to cross things off my list throughout the day. I also enjoy having a cleaner home. I used to be terrible about cleaning my bathrooms on a regular basis. Now I do it weekly, like I know I should have been doing all along, and it's so much better! I also really enjoy finding odd jobs to do that don't usually get done. For example, I washed my front door. Man, was it dirty! But it was such a satisfying job seeing all that dirt come off.
So yeah, life is good. I have a cute daughter, a wonderful home, and an amazing husband. My days are happy, full, and fulfilling. I feel truly blessed!