They Say It's Your Birthday...

I am somewhat saddened to say that I am now another year older. I'm not sure how this happened, but it did. I feel a little like Joey on Friends, "Why, why? We had a deal!" (I know some of you out there know what I'm talking about.)

But as I've often said to many of you, the best thing about getting older is that everyone you know gets older too. I have to take this opportunity to mention that two of my siblings have reached milestone ages already this year. My sister Sandy (who is my 2nd oldest sister) turned 50 last month and my youngest sister Peggy turned 40 last week! So in my family, at 31, I'm still a baby! :-) (And I hope you guys aren't mad that I outed your ages on the Internet. It's all out of love.) But since I have to get older, I'm lucky that it's with Matt.

In case you didn't know, I have the greatest husband! He is wonderful and amazing. I don't know how I got him, but I'm glad I did. He planned a fantastic birthday celebration that was full of surprises for me.

First, he let me sleep in while he got up with Audrey. Later I found out that he had taken the day off of work so we all got ready and went to IHOP for breakfast. We used to do this on Saturdays when we were dating, but it's been awhile. Despite the slow service (there were two waitresses and one cook--someone called in sick) and the fact that Audrey is crying in this picture and pushing me away, we had a great time.

She was much happier when her smiley face pancake arrived. She destroyed it.

After breakfast/brunch we went home and put Audrey down for a nap and then took a nap ourselves. When we got up we had birthday cake and I got to open my presents. Audrey got me a car charger for my Zune and Matt got me an all in one photo printer/copier/scanner.

Misty was kind enough (AGAIN!) to watch Audrey for us while we went to Seattle for two more surprises. Matt surprised me with dinner at the Ipanema Grill, a Brazillian steakhouse. It's been almost three years since our last Brazillian steakhouse experience at Fogo de Chao in Houston and probably three years before that since we ate at Tucano's in Provo. I was very excited and we both ate a ton of delicious food and mouth-watering steaks. I do not understand how people can be vegetarian.

For my final surprise we went and saw The Lion King. We saw this in London on our honeymoon and loved it. It is a fantastic musical and I highly recommend it.

It was a perfect, stress-free day. Thanks sweetie!

And thank you to all of you who called and sent cards and gifts and wished me a happy birthday! I love all of you and miss those of you I don't see as often as I'd like!

Saaay, CLICK!

Take a pic!

The Christmas before Matt and I got married he received this camera. For over two years now this has been our one and only digital camera and it has served us well. It was at our wedding, went to London with us on our honeymoon, took pictures of us at the Golden Gate Bridge, Temple Square, Astros games, and was the first to capture our beautiful Audrey.

However, we finally decided it was time to replace it. Matt can explain that this camera isn't as good (for a lot of technical reasons I can't remember and only vaguely understand) as the new ones out there, but mainly it's because its two rechargeable batteries are capable of taking about 4 pictures each before they are dead. Farewell old friend.

This is our new camera. I suppose you'll all be able to expect much better pictures from us now--at least once I figure out all of the features.

Sometime in the future when we have a thousand bucks we'll have to look into replacing this trusty camera. I got this one (I think) for Christmas of '99. It's still a great camera, but it's an old-fashioned film-using camera, and let's face it, these days it's really hard to use one of these when the digital ones are so much more instantly gratifying.

Of course, there is a part of me that will never really let our old cameras go. Even with a new camera I can still see a place in our lives for the old ones. Let's just hope I don't get this sentimental when it's time to get a new car!

Since Christmas...

Okay, so this is going to be another long post, but now I'm caught up so things will get back to normal. Here's what we've been doing since Christmas (although the first few pictures are still from Texas).

Audrey had a great time at her Aunt Peggy's house playing in an antique cradle full of stuffed animals. It was very ET-esque.

So as not to misrepresent our trip, the weather in North Texas is not always sunny and warm and does get cold at times. Matt left on a Monday and ice was coating everything! The day before we had record highs in the mid 80's. It's nothing if not unpredictable!

Santa, Mama and Pops, and Grammy and Grandpa Holyoak all left gifts in Washington to help reduce the cost of shipping. So Audrey pretty much got two Christmases.

The make-up case filled with goodies (NOT REAL make-up) was from Matt and me. This was the most brilliant idea I've ever had. Audrey is obsessed with my make-up case and gets very excited whenever I get it out each morning. Have any of you ever tried to put on your make-up when an 18 month old is grabbing everything and trying to open your eyeshadow and running off with your brushes? It's not an especially pleasant experience. So we got her her very own make-up case, brushes, mirrors, hair brush, headbands, nail files, etc. She LOVES it! And more importantly, I LOVE IT! After I get out of the shower every morning she picks up her "big, heavy" case and carries it to the bed where she sits next to me and puts on her make-up. Merry Christmas to me!

Tyler, Macy, and Audrey playing on the widowseat.

Cousins.

Valentine pigtails.

In case you couldn't tell, Audrey is watching TV in these pictures. Diego, I think.

Matt and I had a Family Home Evening with some friends from our ward. Afterwards we all decorated cupcakes. The girls loved it!

Yum, yum!

Cute girls!

A few days later I made chocolate cupcakes for a family at church. We had some leftover so Audrey got to enjoy her first chocolate cake. It was a hit.

Relaxing after church.

Helping Mama bake MORE cupcakes for another family from church.

We gave Audrey some bubble bath for Valentine's Day. She loved her very first bubble bath! It's amazing how something so simple can be so entertaining.

Showing us her "bubble toes" (her description, not ours).

Yes, We're Still Here

In case you've been wondering, no, we have not fallen off the face of the earth. I realize I haven't posted in two months. I got behind at Christmas and have been dreading the catch-up post ever since so I keep putting it off. That just means I have more to catch-up on which makes me dread it more...So it's a vicious cycle. Here's the update. And I hope you're ready for a long one.

Audrey and I spent three glorious weeks in Texas for Christmas. Matt was there for two of them and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was so nice to see the sun and have some warm and dry weather. It was even better to see all of my family and friends. We miss you guys! So here's what we did.

I took Audrey to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time where we met my friend Diana and her little Elizabeth. What a cutie! The girls had a great time. Sadly, I didn't get a better picture of the two of them, but they're both dolls!

This is Audrey's Chrismas outfit. She's holding the artwork she did in her very first nursery class. My big girl!

Stephanie was so nice and got Audrey a Christmas present--a puzzle that makes sounds! Audrey loves it Stephanie! Thanks again!

On Chrismas Eve we headed to my sister Peggy's house for our annual Chrismas Eve dinner of cheese soup and bread. Yum! They have a bunny so Matt took her out to see it. I stayed inside. I am very allergic to rabbits. It doesn't seem that Audrey has that problem, thankfully.

My dad, Debbie, Steve, Sandy, and Audrey. She loved being the center of attention.

Kelly and Mom.

Stacey and Peggy.

Rebecca, Anna, Charles, and Connie.

Jennifer (who is pregnant with her third), Jacob, and Zane.

Josh and James.

Peggy and Bill moved into their new house pretty recently so they enlisted the help of some of the guys to move the air hockey table upstairs to the game room.

After we got home from Peggy and Bill's we had our own little family tradition. Each year Matt and I get Audrey a new Christmas book. She opens it on Christmas Eve and then we read it as a family.

Santa was pretty generous even though he knew we had to pack all of this stuff back to Washington. He also left a few presents in Washington that Audrey got when she got home.

Surprisingly, Audrey was pretty hesitant when we took her into the living room. She stood and stared at everything for awhile before diving in.

Her first real Christmas dinner.

Matt calls her our little dirt farmer. My parents have a great swingset in the backyard but Audrey's favorite thing to do is sit and dig in the dirt. Here she's accompanied by her cousin Jessie and Cheryl's two dogs. One of the great things about this trip is that Audrey got to spend a lot of time outside.

Enjoying a couple of cookies. The green Christmas tree cookie is my personal favorite and one that I've made every year (except the two I've been away) for as long as I can remember.

You're just going to have to take my word on this one. Matt and I went to Six Flags for Holiday in the Park. (Thanks again Stephanie!) We snapped this picture right before we left so you can't see anything, but I promise that's where we were. I tried to take Matt to Holiday in the Park when we were dating but we rode two little rides and then it started pouring (the picture below is from that trip). I'm glad we finally got to do this together. It's been awhile since I've ridden roller coasters and I am sad to say that I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to. They are starting to make me a little sick and I need some time to recover whenever the ride ends. Sad to be old!
Here we are when we went to Holiday in the Park back in 2002 when we were still just dating. This is after we got rained on.

This was at Six Flags. I love Texas.

This is Kelly's youngest. Anna is Audrey's closest cousin in age. On my side Audrey's cousins range in age from 29 to 6. Audrey didn't seem to mind the age difference and plopped down on Anna's lap whenever she felt like it.

Audrey with Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa and Audrey.

We went and rode the Forest Park Train one day. Audrey loved the 45 minute train ride and was great the entire time. It's been awhile since I last rode this train, but I remember that I loved riding it as a kid. It was just as I remember. It's fun to be able to take Audrey to the places I went as a child. I hope she'll have some of the same fond memories that I do. It really is a great train ride so if you're ever in Fort Worth, check it out.

Another day we went to Trinity Park to play. This is another place I loved coming to as a child. On a lot of my school field trips we'd end up at Trinity Park for lunch. It's a great park.

This kid thought she was too big for help. She wanted to sit on the merry-go-round all by herself. I used to love this particular piece of playground equipment. Now it makes me sick and throws off my balance.

One of my favorite parts of the park is the duck pond. It's huge and has a ton of ducks. I thought this would be Audrey's favorite thing, but she was less interested in feeding the ducks than picking up sticks and digging in the dirt. Figures.

Pops and Munch.

Our last stop was one of the spots with stepping stones across the Trinity River. I thought this was the coolest thing when I was a kid. The stones go across the actual river, not just some little stream or something. When I was little I was always a little surprised and amazed that my parents would let me go out on those stones. It seemed like the kind of thing that parents wouldn't allow. To be honest, I'm a little surprised the city hasn't ripped those walkways out. In our litigious and overprotective society it seems like something that would have happened by now. But I'm glad it hasn't and I hope it never does. I always felt a little like I was breaking the rules whenever I went across those stones.

My two cuties in the place I knew first and love best.

Our little family.

Towards the end of our trip we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. Even though they now charge for parking (the nerve!) I love this zoo. I can remember when the bears and big cats were in tiny little cages built in the 20's. Now they are in huge, beautiful habitats. While a lot of things have changed, it's still the same zoo where I went for my kindergarten field trip and for senior skip day.

Audrey and a little "eh-funt."

Just outside the Australia exhibits they have a big sandbox for the kids to play in. We made the mistake of letting Audrey play. I didn't think we'd ever get her out. I think that in her opinion if we had come and done nothing but play in the dirt, it would have been well worth the parking and ticket prices.

Audrey with her grandma and grandpa.

What a wingspan!

So there you have most of it. I'll be posting another update or two within the next week. Then I'll be caught up and can get back to regular blogging!