Three Wonderful Years

Three years ago today, I married the most wonderful man in the whole world.



Choosing to marry Sam in the temple was the best decision I've ever made.



I know I will be with him forever!

Time-Out

Abby had her first time-out today. She had to stand facing the wall for one minute. She cried and cried and pressed her little arms against the wall.

It was a very long, sad minute.

We ended it with a talk and a big hug from mom and dad.

She is definitely a toddler.

Let's hope this won't be happening TOO regularly.

White Trash Party

Our friends threw a White Trash party this weekend and it was a total blast!

Everyone looked awesome, the food was disgusting and the entertainment was hilarious.

Sam and I (notice the sweet Nascar posters). Abby was there, but she wasn't dressed up.


All of the lovely ladies!


Studly Men (Abby is on the couch next to Sam holding a soda bottle, HA!)


Sam showing some serious intensity during the Twinkie eating contest.


The spread: tater tots, Spam, fishsticks, pigs in a blanket, lil' smokies, beef jerkey, chicken nuggets...let's just say that Abby had one stinky diaper!


Thanks McGowans!!! It was so fun!

Here's to hoping...

that she's not a nose picker!

25

I'd like to introduce you to my newest nephew, whom I believe is going unnamed in the blog world.



He is Abby's first cousin on my side, but 25th overall. (Yeah, Sam has a big family!) There is something about him being my sibling's kid that makes him extra special. Maybe it's becase we share some genes!

We just love him already and can't wait to go meet him in a couple of weeks.

Bed Head

Socks: Part 2...

Apparently, this is Abby's way of doing laundry.



She wasn't around so I thought it was safe to snap a picture.

Easter 2010

Our Easter this year was very relaxing. We spent most of the day watching General Conference, which is a semi-annual broadcast given by our church. It was wonderful and uplifting.

I made a bunny cake and some Easter basket cupcakes to take over to a friends house where a big group of us got together for Easter dinner. The food was delicious and the company was wonderful. We are blessed with amazing friends here in Philly.

The Bunny cake: Pretty cute if I do say so myself.


The Easter basket cupcakes:


Abby playing before Easter dinner.


Snuggling my love:

French Creek

The Friday before Easter, we went camping with some of our friends. We weren't planning to go, but after some convincing, we gave in, packed up the car and drove out. If you know me, you know that I'm a planner, so this was a big leap!

We put Abby down for bed soon after we arrived. It took her quite some time to fall asleep. Turns out, she wasn't feeling super awesome and I can imagine being in the tent must have been pretty disorienting. Poor girl!

Most of the wood around was still pretty wet from all of the rain we've been getting, but our determined Boy Scouts got a pretty good blaze going so we could cook our food. By the time the food was cooked, I wasn't even that hungry because I had been snacking on junk food. Needless to say, we wouldn't have starved without a fire.

In the middle of the night, this weird siren started going off, kind of like the kind that goes off when a bomb is going to drop. It freaked me out. I thought we would have to pack up and leave in the middle of the night. Sam, of course, slept right through it, as did most of our friends. Since it only lasted about two minutes, I figured we must be okay. The siren would have kept going if it was serious, right?

All in all, it was a great night! Thanks to Kelley for talking me into it!

This was the best of several pictures Sam tried to take of Abby and me. HA!


I love this picture! Don't they both look so cute?


My handsome man! There's no accessory quite like a head-lamp!

Socks...

I will preface this story by saying that Abby loves to take socks out of her drawer and play with them. A little weird? Maybe. Really, she likes to take all kinds of clothes out of her drawers, but this story involves socks...

This morning, while folding laundry, I heard the tell-tale sound of a drawer opening. Great, I thought, play by yourself while I finish this laundry I never got around to last night. A few minutes later, I heard the not-so-tell-tale sign of the toilet lid closing. I went in to find a pair of socks floating in the toilet. Awesome. I didn't take a picture because I thought it would reinforce the behavior.

Oh, the joys of motherhood!

A Day at the Beach

For playgroup this week, we went to Ocean City. It was a gorgeous day to play in the sand and soak up some sun. The water was freezing but that didn't phase any of the kiddos. Even Abby was loving it. She didn't fuss until she was covered in goosebumps with teeth chattering.

We learned that swim diapers don't hold pee. (Whoda thunk it?)






I ended the day with one sunburnt arm and a completely un-sunburnt daughter! Perfect!

Because She's Cute

Abby found this in my closet in the "take to the Salvation Army" pile. She loves to wear it. She has even dressed herself in it with her head through the arm hole.


Tiny arms + Oven Mitts = Cute

Daddy is Old

Our Marches (Marchs? How do you make a month plural?) always end the same--by celebrating Sam's birthday. This celebration always includes the opening of presents and the eating of pie.

This year, Abby thought the presents were for her. She was happy to help daddy open them. She even tried to open them while I wrapped them. I got him a game and a tent and my parents got him some new clothes and a fancy meat thermometer (and yes, he was very excited about this!)





I made the usual apple pie and a butterscotch pie. I did a different crust recipe that was yummy but harder to work with. It was supposed to be easier but I think I've just gotten used to the "harder" way. The butterscotch was my most successful cream pie yet. It was also my first time making meringue. We had a few friends over to eat the pie with us. Sam didn't want a big party because in years past, he hasn't gotten to eat very much of his pie and he didn't want to share! Ha!





Happy Birthday Handsome Man! I love your guts!