SOAPY DELICIOUS!

Today Lexi got some SUPER BUBBLES for being GOOD at the store. Not the non-popping kind, the GIANT kind (although they weren't as big as I had hoped). They were the kind you DON'T have to blow- you just WAIVE the WAND through the AIR and they appear, like MAGIC! My kind of bubbles!

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She thought they looked PREEETY tasty because she kept trying to EAT them.

(you have to enlarge them to see the bubble spatter...)

Not sure HOW she thought they tasted good.......

But she spent all afternoon trying...

and trying...

to get one in her mouth!

with no success!

It was pretty funny to watch!

OHHH and one LAST thing........

DEAREST ANIE,

and MY DEAR KATIE,

These nappy roots will see you SUNDAY!

Lexi's BED.

Lil' crowded DON'T CHA THINK?

So this is the typical stuff Lexi sleeps with every night. By morning, there is usually MORE too. I find diapers, baskets, changing pad and even the picture frames from her walls in her bed. Pretty much everything in her room ends up in her bed and THIS is just how she likes it. I have NO clue how she can sleep like this. And if I take anything out, she KNOWS! She will frantically look for whatever is missing! You can't see that shes got two other blankets in there too! (They are stuffed under her brown bear.) She also smuggles MORE toys in through out the day. I have to weed it out daily. Its comfort for her I guess???

Not really sure how we're going to handle Arizona for a month......

{SPOT}

Found a DANDY little spot for pictures and its SUPER close to my house!

Its no BIG RED, but its still pretty...

It was a GOOD one.

That would be TODAY!

Lexi and I played outside all morning, I showed her cool things like how to roll her Barbie car down the hill in our yard. You wouldn't think it would be very exciting, but it WAS! That Barbie car got some GOOD air today.

We spent the afternoon at the park (from yesterday) for play group. Play group, watching Lexi play with other kids and ME talking to other ADULT humans always MAKES me feel better and HAPPY about living here!

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Then I came home to that package I was expecting and managed to catch Brian just long enough to give him a smooch on his way out the door! (Hes been working crazy hours) Back to that package... My Mom, always thinkin' of me, sent me a FLOWER SPRINKLER for my garden. Its got a flower in the middle that spins around and sprays water EVERYWHERE. Love it! The GREAT thing about NOT living in Maryland right now, it that its still warm enough to play in the water (even when its cloudy...) So I tried to convince Lexi to run and JUMP over and through the sprinkler with me... Um, I'm pretty sure she just thought I was CRAZY.

And MOM- THIS ONES FOR YOU!

Check out the AIR I got today! WOOT!

It brings a certain nursery rhyme to mind... Hey diddle diddle, the cat and fiddle, the cow jumped over the....... sprinkler?

{YEP.}

Lexi liked the water, but she kept her distance only getting slightly WET. I however, got SOAKED. It was fun. We had fun, together! I like acting like a dork to make her laugh.

Love my BOO.

And then we watched the sun set together... while missing Brian.

I think that was the WHOLE day spent outside. Can't complain about that! (Until the mosquito bites show up tomorrow...)

The PACKAGE & The PARK!

Today I walked over to my teeny tiny little mail box and BEHOLD! There, among the pile of JUNK mail, lay an old dingy key. This key, marked clearly with a number SIX, was for a MUCH BIGGER mail box below mine! My heart, it skipped a beat- I knew what it meant! A PACKAGE had arrived!! Nothing makes my heart dance MORE than a fresh package, no matter what it holds! And I wasn't expecting a package on this day... not until THURSDAY anyway! (wink, wink, Mom!) Anyway, I fumbled around with the key in excitement and almost managed to rip the mailbox open without it! Inside, OooOoOoo! A shiny silver box sat waiting for me! (A little smooshed, but I didn't care!) My eyes were bulging as I pulled it out and I wondered WHO was if FOR? WHO was it FROM? I ran it back to my house and pulled it open........ My eyes tried hard, as hard as they could to blink back the tears while I pulled out the VERY things I miss the VERY most right now... Bits and pieces of the place that I long to be... a sweet little friend sent some of sweet MARYLAND to ME!

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and I took out each piece and I remembered ALL of it so well... the HOLLY- I could remember taking Lexi on walks around the pond when she was little, passing by the big holly trees. PINE CONES- I remember a year when both Krista and I were out collecting them attempting to Martha Stewart our own holiday creations! ACORNS- they cover every square inch of the sidewalks there. Especially in the Fall.. And last but CERTAINLY not least- GIANT COLORFUL FALL LEAVES! I remember how big they were compared to a very TINY Lexi for her first fall and I remember being so amazed that something THAT big could grow in only a few short months!

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I loved this package! It TOTALLY brighten up my WEEK!

Thank you, Sweet little someone, a MILLION times over!

Later, Lexi and I hit the park... ALONE. I'm trying really hard to come to terms with the fact that there are no friends down the the street to plan everything for ME or to go on walks with. So, we did it! We got out and went some place PUBLIC (that was NOT a store!) by ourselves! Lexi had a hard time at first, it was CROWDED and all she wanted to do was CHUCK wood chips in the air (like she did last time when it was less crowed). I caught lots of stink eye from all the other moms, so I found another activity for her- QUICKLY! Shes obsessed with hanging from things, so as soon as I spotted this bar, not TOO high off the ground, I knew it would be a hit! It was! A BIG ONE! By the end, almost ALL the kids were lining up behind her to have a turn at hanging...

Heres how it worked......

And now, I have something else BIG planned for Lexi... this day is ONLY half over!

Plain old HAPPY.

When Lexi got up this morning, the first thing she did was check to make sure her snow was still there. And OH, IT WAS! I let her outside as the sun was coming up and watched her bounce around, laughing while she tried to catch the big flakes on her tongue. It was almost like the real stuff, I guess. Maybe just a little more like the donut on a string game we played at our Halloween party though. She didn't care, she probably liked it better since she wasn't cold and since she likes to eat things that aren't edible anyway. A little glitter never hurt anyone!

When all else fails... go out FRONT.

Today I worked like a crazy mad woman trying to set up a cute snow scene for Lexi (and of course pictures) when she woke up from her nap. I had a blue sheet tied up on the porch and had rigged some rope to and fro (yeah, I just said FRO) with snow flakes dangling from all directions. Of course she LOVED it, but I hated it the second she sat down. The sheet- it just wasn't working for me. So after about 5 seconds I ripped it down. But then the fence was distracting me, and I had to flip the bench around to get the light right, which caused me to have to rearrange my snowflakes and then I couldn't get back far enough, so I had to switch my lens! It still wasn't working, it was NOT what I had envisioned my cute snowy photo shoot to be.

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I did get a few cute ones of her though, standing in my jimmy rigged blizzard!

I scrapped the snowflakes when I noticed the sun was setting- we tried for a little flare and when that was over, we moved our party out front. Seriously, when its boring around here- the FRONT YARD is the NEW pick me up!

We went on a walk and while she was busy running around like crazy (occasionally holding still) I was taking pictures.

She also discovered today that she can jump OFF of things- like the curb in front of our house! Shes pretty good at it too....

What I love now is that I can bribe her to preform for the camera- somewhat. I mean, just LOOK at that precious smile! RIGHT? RIGHT? Haha! Shes a NUT. I wouldn't change her though, shes just too cute!

HAPPINESS- I'm finding it!

People keep asking me how I'm liking San Antonio. I'm glad they're asking now rather than a week or two ago. Back then I'd have said I hated it 1000% and I was soooo glad that I saved the moving boxes! Its been hard, it STINKS being new. I hate feeling so awkward. I never know what to say to people I meet, its just not my "THING". Its so hard to go from having friends, good friends, who hang out with you EVERYDAY to knowing NO ONE and doing NOTHING. Almost everyday here has been the same and LAME. I expected people in my ward to be excited about having a new person move in. I mean, thats how it is where I came from. A new person was like FRESH MEAT for all of us to fight over! Raarrrrrr!

I finally confessed to Brian the other night that I was depressed and sobbingly told him how much I hated it here. He was shocked. He had no idea I felt that way. He kindly reminded me that we CHOSE to move and that we are here for the long haul. Hes really been extra sweet since then, which has helped! Sometimes its good to just LET IT ALL OUT because since that night, I have felt better. I finally feel like Ive met someREALLY COOL GIRLS and I've gotten out of the house a little more too! Lexi and I have been on several adventures this week! My ward has also really lifted my spirits so much! Ive never had such amazing visiting teachers and lots of other people keep calling just to check in with us (since we had been so sick...) It really IS a great ward!

Now that I'm kinda feeling LESS NEW its been BETTER! And the LESS new I feel, the BETTER and BETTER it will get, I'm sure!! I do like it here... I'm starting to!

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I even felt happy enough to enjoy my precious blooms, blossoming all over my yard today! (Ive been neglecting them and my garden...) I picked these and then rolled all over the ground to get some of these shots while Brian just watched me. I know he was thinking "FA-REEEAK" in his head, but hey- it was FUN!

Im loving all my pretty pink fleurs!

Blown roses are my FAV!