Saturday is a Special Day...

..not because I was getting ready for Sunday, but because it was just one of those days. Abbey's a 6:30 a.m. baby now and I decided to make use of the morning. So I hopped on my bike--er...I mean, Erin's bike I hijacked while she was out of town (thanks Erin!). And we rode up to the square for the Farmer's Market. I happened to turn on a street Melody was coming down on her way back from the market, but she can't resist a bike ride, so she went back with me. Then we headed to the park where Abbey had her first taste of dirt. Lovely.

We went back to Melody's and had the blackberry treasures she bought at the market and fresh bread. That's when I realized Abbey had lost a shoe. Somewhere. We'd been all over town. Amazingly we found it but in the meantime, Abbey had been snacking on the 'prize-winning' lettuce in the trailor. The SAME lettuce Melody warned me to wash and then wash again because of the bugs she found in hers. Again, lovely.

That night we had a bonfire in the Basso's new fire pit and made s'mores. It's fun to see Abbey playing with other kids. She's getting so big. Next, I'll have to post some video of her...dun, dun, dun...WALKING!

My Drama Queen

This video is a few months old, but it is my all-time favorite. She was putting on quite the show every time her dad came in. She kept it up for like five minutes, but I just stuck in a few of my favorite parts.

This is my first time trying a video on here, let me know if it works.

I Smile Because You're My Sister...

I Laugh Because You Can't Do Anything About It!

I love that quote, it's written on Charyce's daughters' bedroom wall. I was thinking about each of my sisters last night--how different they are, but how great they are. Aren't they beautiful? OK, yes, the middle, handsome fella is NOT a sister, but I love this picture of all of us. From L-R, me, Koryn, Collin, Allison, and Megan. Here's my spin on each of them:

Koryn: Koryn is the big sister everyone wishes they had. Who else would bring her 7 & 8 year old sisters to hang out with her and her boyfriend the night before he left on his mission. Actually, now that I write that, maybe Mom and Dad made her take us :) But nonetheless, she was always cool about having her little sisters tag along and we adored her. I'm sure that explains my love of Wayne's World, Better Off Dead, and Biolage shampoo! Koryn has flawless taste and the 'gift of gab'. And I love that she knows how to shake it in her Turbo Jam classes--I wish she lived closer so she could be my private aerobic instructor every day!

Allison: It wasn't always fun being compared to my unusually bright YOUNGER sibling, but I couldn't be more proud of my talented, beautiful, ambitious, articulate little sister. This girl knows me better than any one else. Mostly because we used eachother's weaknesses as ammunition when we were younger. Thank heavens that passed because she and I couldn't be better friends now. I love that people can tell right away that we are sisters--not because we look much alike, but because our mannerisms and humor are so similar. She's one of those people who can find an outfit for less than $20 that looks like a million.

Megan: I'm not kidding, Megan has been the sweetest thing since the day she was born. I'm sure the whole family would agree, there isn't a bad bone in her body. But she doesn't get walked on. I loved watching her in basketball games. I think she was the designated captain to talk to the referees if there was a problem and she would always calmly walk over and speak her peace, even though you had to think she was going crazy inside. She just seems to have it all together--much more than I did at her age.

Collin: All right, the baby of the family, can't leave him out. Poor boy, growing up with five moms. He's quite the little stud and so sweet and respectful. Watch out ladies...

Surprise Birthday Dinner

I know, I'm going overboard with the posts today. I just have to get up to date now. J had his 26th birthday a few weeks ago and I was wracking my brain trying to think of something to make it special. We love to go out to eat but we've been to the two places in town too often to make it special. Enter, Eugena's Cafe! A friend in town is a fabulous cook and I enlisted her talent for the night.

We dropped the babe off and drove to Eugena's where she had two beautiful tables set (Melody and Paul were celebrating his birthday as well). It turned out so great, what a perfect memory. We had a lemon shrimp pasta, lemon risoto, asparagus, focaccia bread, red velvet cake, key lime pie, and raspberry citrus gelatto. We ate dinner as the sun was going down, then joined Melody and Paul for dessert. With a little help from the crooning of Paul Lanka, the mood was set. (Paul informed me of the singer's name. I thought Paul Lanka was just the name of the dog off Gilmore Girls.) The weather was perfect, the conversation was great, the candlelight was romantic. I truly felt like we were sitting in a little European cafe...which is what Eugena was going for. Great job, thanks for making it a special night.

Fate Handed Her a Lemon

I was zesting lemons one day, and had to see how she'd take it. Partly because I was curious if this was the one food she wouldn't eat. Partly because I knew it would be a priceless picture opportunity.

Talkin' bout My Girl

All right, better introduce her early since I'm sure she'll be the star of most my posts. My abbey-girl. Could you ever tire of looking at that sweet mug?

Ta Da

I've been talking about starting a blog for WAY too long, it's finally time. Now I feel like I have all these expectations for it, but mostly it's just another creative outlet for myself. I promised I wouldn't start it until today because I needed the time to study for my CPA exam. Well, folks, it's over! I took the last one this morning. It felt so good--I came home and made a big dinner for the husband that's been neglected, cleaned the house that's been neglected, hung out with the baby that's been neglected. By the way, thanks to everyone who helped out so much with babysitting her the last few weeks. I don't think I could have studied through for this test if I lived anywhere else!

But how awesome are blogs? I can write anything I want about anything I want. And the nice thing is, if you're bored, you don't have to read it and I will never be the wiser :) Unless you want to leave a comment...which, you should so I feel somewhat validated for the time I'll inevitably spend on this thing. I love that people can put their every day lives on a blog and somehow it is super interesting. How does that happen? Most of the time, it's nothing you would call about or probably even write an e-mail about. I love it, and I've loved looking at all your blogs as well. It's a glimpse into your life, and hopefully your real life, that I normally wouldn't see. So...cheers, I hope you like mine as much as I've enjoyed yours.