Just what do you think you've been doing?

I'm not sure what we've been doing. Let me see if I can explain.

1-We've been trying to figure out how this tank top managed to get 11+ price tags attached to it. It's a great workout shirt; you'd think with the bright pink would be enough for a shopper to make notice of it an eventually find a tag. Think again, says TJ Maxx.

2-We tried to get a decent Easter picture. Despite the casualness of a General Conference Sunday, the lack of natural light, and the (original) color of my teeth, we ended up getting a few that worked out okay.

3-We've been in places we shouldn't be. With the gradual, slow, inconsistent onset of spring, we've had the window open a bit more in the bedroom, so Mal has punched her frequent sleeper card quite a bit more often lately. On cold mornings, I'm still a wimp and have the heater on, which welcomes another kitty I know.

4-We can't take it anymore. April has been a stressful month, but we are looking forward to Nate's upcoming graduation, a visit from his parents and sister Jackie, and our trip to Jamaica in June!

5-We've been getting locked out of the granary. We=Nate in this case. He and some (dedicated) guys from our ward left at 6:00am to drive to Defiance, Ohio to work at the granary. After driving an hour and a half, this gate showed them some defiance (HA!); they couldn't get a hold of anyone, so they came right back home. I got Nate back sooner, but it was a disappointing waste of time.

6-We can't stop finding dumb signs. I spotted this one last Saturday, so I was extra pleased to find out it had lasted another week. Nate decided I should be involved with this sign. There was a dude walking through a nearby parking lot, but I steeled my courage and ran out of the car. Not 5 seconds after I got out of the car and approached the sign, some prize in a minivan honked at me (I guess). This sign lived up to it's letters.

Newest addition!

I would like to introduce my newest niece!

Isabella Annette Cook

Born: March 16, 2010

7 pounds, 12 ounces

Congratulations to Ruth and Matt! She looks as pleased to be here as we are to have her. :)

Birthday Musings

Why so festive?

Kathryn celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday!

See how happy she looks? We paid tribute to her by holding her a lot and giving her a little milk to drink. Honestly, her treatment wasn't too different from any other Saturday, so I'm not sure that she noticed.

To make sure we noticed, we headed up to Detroit to the Muse concert. Kathryn would've wanted it that way.

Opening number. He actually pulled off wearing pink pants quite well. I already have a pair, so that just leaves Nate?

Nothing beats an 80/90s lasery show...especially when Pink Floyd and U2 have nothing to do with it...

Nate and I saw Muse at Saltair when we were dating (that's pre-Twilight popularity...just to be clear); we've wanted to see them in concert again ever since so we were excited x10.

More lasery goodness

One of the last numbers; the concert seemed way too short, but I've decided that's the mark of a good concert/meeting/weekend,etc.

Happy, but a little hard of hearing. :)

'

Oh ya. We saw Bill Laimbeer's jersey and a picture of him totally elbowing a guy in the face. Thanks to The Palace employee walking by for pointing it out.

Nate showing off while we waited for the parking lot to clear. I was equally impressed with his strength and how easily we got out of the lot. Thanks to Kathryn for a great birthday!

Now for something completely different:

Some may recall my experience in Kirtland when my parents came to visit. It was really the first time in my life that I'd be "accused" of being a mother in any way. I'm not really a motherly type (yet), plus I thought I looked slimmish, so I was taken off guard. I looked over my wardrobe, wondered what my figure was telling people, and eventually got over the situation.

Yesterday, I went with my friend Candace to help her find a stroller/car seat combo. I learned yesterday these are called "travel systems". I would assume a travel system is like maybe a car blanket for me to sleep in while Nate drives us somewhere. It's not a bad idea, really.

Anyway, I was trying to be the able bodied helper that I was assumed to be. I didn't exactly succeed in taking the stroller box from off the shelf, but that would've taken a service opportunity away from Jeremy*. Anyway, after Candace made her travel system choice, we headed over to the rockers and did what everyone does in a furniture department: sits around on something as if they were in the market for said item. Candace actually is, so I felt okay about it. My assistance didn't seem weird until right then. A women pointedly said "look at the mommies". Mommies. I was suddenly a partner! Once I realized what that meant, I wanted to yell after her "I'm not financially supporting her! I can't even support my husband!". I didn't, but checked over myself, much like I had done in October. What is my wardrobe telling people? Was I bossing Candace around? Maybe I'll let you judge for yourself. Here's Candace's account.


*Babies R US worker. Names have been changed because I never actually learned what his was.

Moving in sundry

Sometimes moving in can seem as painful as this:

(by the way, Nate made me feel better about this picture by saying "the fire is giving him life")

Other times, moving in can be as exciting as spotting this:

I hope my phone did this justice...he was walking out of the museum completely covered in straw. I all but ran after him.

Fortunately, it's been a little of both (fire giraffe and straw man)

Ruth said the cats would just think they'd be on a vacation. She's right, except they've found a few new places they love.

I'm happy to announce the box tower can no longer be a favorite as it has been cleaned up.

Once the box tower disappeared, Mal decided there was yet another tower she could reach:

We are almost all the way "moved in". I don't count it as complete until we have pictures on the wall and I don't have to ask "where did we put ____________?" anymore. Both still are problems, so I'll end this here and get back to work!

Valentime's, Chicago and a nerd's dream

Last weekend, Nathan and I decided to venture to Chicago to celebrate Valentine's day. After a slight delay due to Nate's moot court schedule, we were off! I was anxious about the drive and the trip itself, but it was very relaxing and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go.

Our first stop was the Art Institute of Chicago. Maybe it was all the neatly hung pictures or the perfectly arranged room fixtures, but it was a beautiful, blessed departure from what our apartment looks like right now.

Nate outside the Chicago Stock Exchange trading room. I was happy to experience a nerd moment with Nate...I had been slobbering over the modern art all morning, so it was nice for him to have a turn.

Me and the bean. This was taken after lunch, on our way back to the museum. We found a Noodles location that was almost as exciting as the museum, so we were in good spirits and I was up for posing on a freezing bench.

Nerd destination #2: Medieval Times!

All that culture gave us a healthy appetite, so we were anxious for both the greasy finger food and the floor show.

See?

Because the museum is free this February, we took a second trip the next day. Luckily, we found this gem. It's garish and scary. Goya thought this one up; I was surprised, but maybe I shouldn't have been?

Liz and Mary Cassatt. This has been a favorite of mine for a long while, so it was a party for me to see it in person. I opted for the shadowy eyes look over the rosy cheekedness that the ladies in the painting sported.

Representative. Nate loved the museum, but lacks the museum geek stamina I've developed over the years. He chose to stay on the top level while I checked out the sculpture garden below.

Told you he was tired.

On the roof of the museum. The rock chairs really complimented the freezing temperatures.

Back inside, Nate showed off his talent for mimicry.

And I showed off how small my head is compared to Mars...hopefully it's obvious; my Utah driver's license may say otherwise.

Life imitates art? In the same gallery, look to the right....

I love good timing. :)

We loved Chicago!

Displaced, but happy

We just moved again. I love that we are back at our old apartment, but I hate that said old apartment is full of things we need to put away. We worked out a pathway last night, so huzzah for progress.

It's good to be back, but we shouldn't have left in the first place. Last September I sat on the porch, crying because I didn't want to leave our apartment. Last Sunday after we finished with the house we'd been in, I drove away without any hesitation or sadness. It wasn't ever fully our place, so there wasn't much to say goodbye to. I will always hate moving; it's mentally and physically exhausting (by the way, thank you to Marc for all the help!). It's also difficult to move when it's not convenient, or really your idea; that being said, I'm thrilled to be back to our apartment. A few reasons:

-Brand new carpet and linoleum. The carpet in the kitchen was beyond gross and while a runner covered up most of it, it was not fun to clean...and probably never stayed very clean.

-Birds!! Mal loves birds. Our first night we stayed back in the apartment, she discovered a chubby, napping bird and went crazy. Last night Mal proved her dedication to the cause when she planted her full body on the glass in an attempt to get the same bird. Luckily the glass stopped her suicide attempt.

Cat Watching Bird

-Shorter walk to any room. I fully realize how lazy that makes me sound, but walking down 20 cold steps to the bathroom to get ready in the morning was sometimes too much to take. And then, if I forgot something...back up the stairs. I blame that layout for making me late (I'm not sure what I'll blame it on this month).

-Kathryn enjoys the (unintentional) saloon door style of our bathroom entrance. I will spare you any stories, but she likes to know where everyone is at all times, clothed or not.

-Security. Our apartment has both an outer, then inner door that are locked at all times. It's a lovely, lovely thing.

Pictures of the new/old apartment once I dig it out!