THE PUP

Meet Moose. The newest member of our family.

When Andrew asked what we should name him, I asked how his family had come upon the name Buster for their dog. Apparently, they were all fans of Peanut Buster Parfaits from Dairy Queen. We then thought carefully about what he and I are both fans of...something that might inspire a name for our new pet. 

"Moose Tracks ice cream!" I exclaimed. 

We both knew instantly that it was perfect.

Imagine our shock and surprise when we were informed that the previous owners had already named him Moose...after his large, chocolate lab of a father. What are the chances??

I think it was meant to be.

I am, however, still often wondering what I got myself into. What did I agree to? Don't get me wrong. I love his cuteness right now...please note the soft, green eyes and gargantuan paws. But this is going to be one big dog!

And I don't particularly enjoy 3AM puppy potty breaks, cleaning up after accidents, or disciplining him for crying in his kennel...especially when Andrew has to leave town so often for work and his church calling.

I do take comfort in several things:

1.) For a puppy, he is relatively chill. He learns fast, will be easy to train, and isn't the terror that was Marley the yellow lab.

2.) Andrew is happy. So, so, so happy. You should see the way these two look at each other. This alone makes it worth it.

PET OWNERS

Meet CC.

Her full name is Communal Cat...but that doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

The name stems from the fact that we are sharing her with another couple who happens to be in the process of building near us. We are only caring for her until their home is finished...which is a cool arrangement because we get her during the most adorable stage of her life. Ever since I learned I'm NOT okay with a smelly litter box in my laundry room and moved her into the garage, we've gotten along just swimmingly.

We all hope to eventually benefit from her mousing and snake hunting skills in the fields surrounding our homes. In the meantime, she is is getting very good at catching and eating grasshoppers.

This evening, we are awaiting the arrival of our first puppy. A chocolate lab coming from Boise we have already dubbed: Moose. 

*sigh*

I can't believe I agreed to this. My stomach literally knots up when I think about meeting him, and training him, and cleaning up his poo. The smells, the barking, the fur! Luckily, Moose will be an outdoor dog. Andrew has a fancy shmancy half-kennel, half-tool shed in the works.

{source}

I'm also anxious about putting both pets out there together. My visions of puppy and kitty snuggling together may be a bit idealistic...but at the very least, I hope CC is kind to him.

Pray for us all,

Rachel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

{source}

The brownie pan to end all brownie pans. Andrew won't come home anymore to find every single edge piece carefully carved out with only the gooey middle left behind.  

Ha! Who am I kidding...now there'll be nothing left!

My purse exploded with a strange sound on our way out for dinner. What I found inside was Andrew's cleverly hidden gift to me: my very first smart phone. 

.

I hope to learn to operate it in the near future. Keep me in your prayers.

I received the sweetest, homemade birthday card from my little sister. I labeled it for you so you would understand the story. Cute, huh? Her likenesses are impressively accurate.

In case you're wondering, this is not from one of my 5-year old twin sisters. Or the eight-year old. It's from my twenty-four year old sister in grad school. But it tops the list as one of my most favorite birthday cards ever. 

Did I tell you Lane is living with us right now? Well, he is. And he enthusiastically announced that his gift to me would be homemade gyoza. 

.

Even if I didn't LOVE the stuff (which I do), I never would have argued with him. He and Andrew lit up like Christmas trees discussing all of the Japanese ingredients they would need to purchase. 

Deep concentration. Lane and I are filling the won ton wrappers and sealing them shut with water. The insides consist of cabbage, pork, mushrooms, and a whole lot of spices and herbs I've never seen before.

Gyoza...pot stickers...mandoo...about the same delicious thing. We ate lots and lots of them with sticky rice and chopsticks while I tried to follow Andrew and Lane's story swapping about their crazy experiences in Japan. 

Anyway. It's official. I am 27 now. I suppose I should start feeling like an adult sometime soon...

When did you guys start feeling "adult-like?" 

AURORA's BAPTISM

My sisters and I.

BOOK PLACE MATS (homemade gift)

We drew Andrew's brother's family for the Christmas gift exchange, and I wanted to do something homemade. I spend 24/7 thinking up ways to get kids to fall in love with books, so this gift seemed right up my alley. 

I'd love to do this for my kids one day. While waiting for or eating their dinner, they are exposed to print in a fun, causal way. The little ones are learning to recognize new words and their minds are being conditioned to associate pleasure with books and reading. Early on, this can make a world of difference. 

Ugh. Do I sound like a teacher or what?

But the amazing parents of our niece and nephews don't even need this lecture, so I'll stop now. 




I took a trip to the local thrift store and returned  home with an armload of old books.

I sought after those with bright, beautiful illustrations...




Or those easily-recognized classics most people have memories of and nostalgic feelings for.




Then for FHE, we cut pages out of books...which I might add, was not easy. It totally feels sacrilegious to desecrate a book. I don't care how old and torn and thrift store-y it is. 

I am an elementary teacher, after all. 

For this one, we took apart an alphabet book. 




But I learned that my husband is a scrap booking fiend. We tag-teamed most of these, but Andrew could definitely hold his own. 

Except I had severe doubts over the nursery rhyme he chose for his brother's (not pictured). Andrew rolled with laughter while I had to stress about causing offense. I had nothing to do with that decision, Jeff!

Who knew there were such dirty Mother Goose rhymes?




We arranged a front and back side for each person. At least then, Jeff had choices.




When I found this book in the thrift store, I snatched it off the shelf and actually did a Napoleon Dynamite-style, "yesss."




This was from a book that little Adelle asked me repeatedly to read to her while she was visiting us. So I found another one I could *wince* tear apart. 




Then we dye cut their names, rounded the corners of the mats, laminated everything, and shipped 'em off.

It was a fun project that I hope they enjoy.


I've linked here and here and here and here and here and here and here!

MUCHOS FOTOS DE VACACIONES

The holidays were crazy and busy and wonderful. This is a summary of our vacation in a nutshell.

1.) Whirlwind of Elementary holiday festivities. 

I was assigned to make the fire for the school program's set fireplace.

2.) Driving.

Left wintry Idaho, and drove 16 hours to Arizona. The land of T-shirts and flip-flops.

3.) Visiting little sisters. 

Andrew/ Aurora and neighbor/ happy, little Belle

Duck, duck, goose.

Freestone Park.

feeding the ducks/ Aurora/ twins in their new shirts: Chillin' with my BFF

Andrew + Belle = In Belle's dreams

picnic lunch/ hide-and-go-seek/ playground

4.) Hangin' with Mom.

She and Andrew played one-on-one. Mom kicked his TRASH.

After Frisbee golf, Becca reminisced of childhood 

Playing on Main Street statues

5.) Anniversary Trip to Zion's National Park

{source}

Desert Pearl Inn: modern and rustic.

Highly recommend.

wood floors/ mountain views/ private back patio overlooking pool

kitchenette allowed for homemade spaghetti dinner

Minutes from national park

Beautiful hikes and wildlife

6.) New Year's Celebration with Utah Ashmores

MIL planned fun dinner. Served everything directly on tablecloth for us to dig into. 

Ate salad, spaghetti, or alfredo from the table.

Mostly, I loved little Laney staring at the food...at the adults digging in...and back at the food, with utter bewilderment.

7.) And then it was home again, home again, jiggity jig. To start up real life again. Phew!

NYC MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Very crowded, very loud, very big museum filled with dead animals and other stuff. It's free with a "suggested" donation of $20. I think it was worth seeing.

Here's the short version:

Tyrannosaurus Rex

More dinosaur bones



Brontosaurus
And Andrew. Looking exceptionally dashing.

Woolly Mammoth

Andrew's picture he wanted with the big moose.

Very large pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling

Very large sea turtle hanging from the ceiling

realistic, exotic animal display

realistic, non-exotic animal display

And really big, dead moose that look alive

There is Andrew looking innocent and...way too happy. And there is Mom reacting to whatever Andrew just did or said to tease her.

The End.