Hola?

"Hola? Who's this?" I'm positive that I don't spend THAT much time talking on the phone, so I don't know where Kavella picked up her habit of animatedly conversing with an imaginary counterpart, complete with laughing, head-nodding and hand gestures. Okay, okay, I might spend some time on the phone, but it's usually on speakerphone--Jenn can attest to that since she always complains about not being able to hear me!

The waves were good down at Salt Creek, so we packed up and cruised down. The only thing that bugs me down there are, well, the bugs. There are all these piles of sea kelp that attract flies, which buzz around annoying all the patrons on the beach. Perhaps not all the patrons, but this one for sure!

Nope, no hair. We shaved her head, waxed her eyebrows and plucked her lashes. It was a lot of work--you try using tweezers that close to a 2-yr-old's eyes. Challenging!

Oh, delicious. Now my cupcake can make some cupcakes.

One day at D-land, Kavella and I rode the rocket ships (literally) 6 times in a row. Each time we'd land, Kavella would say, "gen (again)!" Why not?

Look at all that luscious hair blowing in the wind. Yes, Pantene Pro-V keeps those locks looking so shiny.

Ahhhhhh, best ride, ever. Since my daughter NEVER snuggles with me, I was delighted to discover her fear of the swinging ferris wheel! Delighted. Is that really so inappropriate? Really? Hold on to Mommy...mwah, ha, ha, haaa!

I know my Mom is going to hate this picture, but I think it is so cute! Why not throw on some snow boots right before your bath?

This was my attempt at making a blanket for Wyatt (Jenn's babe). I can improve drastically on the next blanket, but that will have to be some time from now--I need a rest. I wish I had someone to actually teach me how to sew. It'd be nice to have a Grandma or Mom or Mom-in-law or sister or sister-in-law guide me through some of these crafts....yes, that was a hint if you fall into any of those categories!

The gem of her eye, her absolute hero, perfect in every way, the most fun person in the world, can do no wrong--all of these describe Dad. You should see the way Kavella lights up when Dust is around.....usually. Sometimes, though, he can really get on her nerves and she has to do her baby choke-out move......

Just kidding--she was playing in the "rain" with Dust. Okay, it was more like a sprinkle, but you know how Californians are. ("We've been tracking this storm with our Doppler 700! It's currently 300 miles off the coast, but we're expecting heavy winds and lots of rain!" Turns out, it's a light misting and wind heavy enough to actually make the wind-chimes ding.)

Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is alright. I mean, the best part about it is spending time with family. It's nice to all gather together and eat. I just wish we were eating bbq foods--you know, couldn't the Pilgrims and Indians thrown together some tasty ribs, corn on the cob, chips, french fries, Caesar salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.? It's not that hard. Okay, maybe the soda and french fries would have posed a slight problem....anyway, the food IS NOT my favorite part of Thanksgiving, but I DO enjoy spending quality time with my family!

Unfortunately, as I gathered pictures from our Thanksgiving Day, I noticed that nobody in my family likes to be photographed. I had a picture of LesLey taking a picture (thereby effectively blocking her entire face from the shot) and a picture of Jim eating a big bite of something (also, blocking the majority of his face) and a picture of everyone eating, which was blurry. So, shockingly, here are some pictures of Kavella....and a few of her cousins.

Conner!

Amanda and Cassidy.

We didn't have any gloves that fit Kavella. Her little mittens were soaked because she just loved grabbing hand-fulls of snow and eating them! She's so cute.

We had a fun time up at the cabin! Kavella loved sledding with her Dad. I like that she is adventurous and willing to try things. Let's just hope she doesn't think she has to try EVERYTHING in life! Thanks to Dan and Les for inviting everyone up! The day after this, we were laying on a beach in Kauai. Is that how you spell it?

BROKEN.

So, my sweet, generous, selfless mother-in-law is coming to babysit Kavella for a few days while Dust and I head "Down Under." (I don't know if that should be capitalized, but it's a proper noun, so I went with it.) Australia. I'm talking about Australia, people. Anywhoooo, since Eloise will be staying in our home to watch Kavella, I began compiling a list of all the things she might need to know concerning our home. I started with the WASHER, which requires a "push-start" now and again during the spin cycle....then I moved on to the MICROWAVE--only three numbers work, along with the "start" button....continuing on, I mentioned the OVEN that shuts off whenever it feels like and without warning....almost finished, I noted the HEATER that can sometimes lose its ability to produce heat when the flame goes out....and finishing up with the fact that POWER to our entire house can go out, due to the ridiculously old "breaker" we're equipped with. I should have mentioned our shoddy DIRECTV (television, Mom...you know, cable?) unit that goes haywire at its own discretion. Basically, we have ONE appliance that works consistently in our home--the FRIDGE we recently purchased.

I know I'm not the only one with less-than-perfect surroundings. You know how you sort of get used to working with broken things (or overlooking shortcomings) as a way to save money, be frugal or avoid the steps to repair it? I can do that really well. In fact, I had never really considered it all that much--until I started actually listing out all the faults for someone else to read! As my list kept growing, I thought, "geez, it might be time to take action to fix, repair or replace some of these appliances! Poor Eloise might think she's stepped into some sort of appliance-related comical joke episode." No, no, that's just my life. Oh, and enjoy hand-washing every plate, bowl, utensil, cup and measuring spoon you use! I can't afford to fix all of these things at once, but maybe I could work on repairing just one. Perhaps I shouldn't post this blog until AFTER Eloise gets here.....

As easy as it's been to live with these marred appliances, I think it's been equally as easy to overlook my own shortcomings. I mean, I'll go through these phases of wanting to improve EVERYTHING all at once--I'm going to start working out, I'm going to start reading my scriptures consistently, I'm going to remember my prayers every day, I'm not going to have road rage, I'm going to make Dustin lunch every day, I'm going to stop watching 'Jersey Shore' (don't judge me), I'm going to stop drinking soda, I'm going to floss my teeth every day and on and on and on! Naturally, when I try to fix everything at once, I fail. Then, I go back to living with all the "broken" pieces quite easily...until I am inspired to change again. What ever happened to self-discipline? Determination? Self-control? Fixing everything at once is clearly NOT the solution, so I think I'll try to improve one or two things and go from there. Yup, I think I'll start with the microwave and DirecTV. :)

Angel's Time.

Angel's time, time, time! I love going to games, especially with fun friends! Candice and Grace were able to meet us for a game, which was quite fun!

Kavella, how would you react if I told you that I actually forgot extra diapers and wipes? Ha, ha....but seriously....

Um, I am not exaggerating when I say it was 100 degrees out. What with handling Kavella and all, I decided this was actually a workout session and dressed accordingly...cheating? Most likely. Thankfully, the sun never hit our seats. I would have left if it did. On a totally different note, I can't believe Candice and I have been graduated for over 10 years....a decade!

I sure love my family.

Above, these are the tastiest, most satisfying treat in all of Angel's Stadium; they're funnel fries! It's like a funnel cake in fry form and you can dip them in strawberry sauce. Totally worth $9.00 or whatever absurd amount of money they cost!

Thanks, Gracie, for the Angel's teddy bear--what a treat!!