Meet Oscar

The baby skunk. They are actually keeping it as a pet, since it's been away from its mother so long now that it has no chance of being released back into the wild. Brandon's dad says that if they love it enough, it won't stink. All I know is that I love Violet and she still stinks, so I don't see that working.

And here is our little hippie family in our tie-dye shirts. Violet's onesie is my favorite. They turned out rather well.

Yellowstone

We went to Yellowstone on Wednesday. We saw bison, elk, a bald eagle, and a wild swan, but Violet was by far the wildest beast. She screamed all night in the cabin and peed all over the bed in the morning. When we got into the park, she had a blowout that got all over the car and the smell would have scared off any predators in a 10-mile radius. (That's why she's naked in the 3rd picture) She loved the hikes but had to wear her peed-on jammies from the night before. She also made it very clear that she did not like being in the car. Anyways, we still managed to have a good time and here are some pictures:

At Yellowstone falls

At artist paint pots
With the bison

We also got a call from McKay when we were there telling us that he had caught a baby skunk. I am not kidding. It was there when we got home and it is going to be the family's new pet. That's weird even for me. I will post pictures of that escapade later.

Family reunion and Father's day

This weekend was Brandon's family's annual reunion, so we went camping at Crystal Springs in Utah. Violet loved being outside, slept through the night, and had lots of fun in the pools. In fact, she got so used to being outside that she threw a fit on Father's day when we had to stay inside all day. It was very reassuring since in 5 weeks we will go on a very long camping trip with her.

Father's day was also fun. I made Brandon a pavlova (an Australian dessert with a meringue crust and fruit). It kind of collapsed, but what can you expect, I'm not a very good cook. It was nice to do something special for him and appreciate what a great daddy he is.

Idaho

Here is what we have done in Idaho so far:
-Brandon and I went on a date without Violet
-Violet learned how to crawl
-I sewed a pillow for our bed
-We are sleeping on a California king-sized mattress
-We went to the Idaho Falls temple
-Yesterday the high was about 55 degrees and I was very upset about it
-We bought shirts and a onesie to tie-dye
-Brandon golfed 18 holes with his dad
-I found an apartment vacancy, but it's for June 28
-There are 11 people in this 4-bedroom house
-Violet has 4 kitties to play with whenever she wants
-Since I don't let Violet touch the kitties with her hands (she pulls on their ears and whiskers) she tries to step on them and laughs
-We have watched the Fifa World Cup and NBA finals
-Violet refuses to go to bed at night since it doesn't get dark until 10:00
-We are going camping today
-And so far, Brandon has only worked for a few hours.

On the move

Brandon and I are going to be pretty transient for the next few months. Here is a look at our schedule:

Tomorrow: Move to Idaho. No, this is not a joke. Brandon is going to be designing a grocery store with his dad, and since we don't have any other employment options, we get to live with my in-laws for 3 weeks to a month. Go ahead and laugh, again. At least we will have free babysitters and a pillowtop mattress.

Mid-July: Move back to Provo, briefly.

July 26: Leave for Canada!!!! Spend 2 weeks on the most awesome vacation ever.

August 7: Return from Canada, hang out with Mom after she finishes the Provo half-marathon.

Sometime between August 9 and August 17: Move to Houston. If we're lucky, we might even get to move into our own apartment. However, I still haven't found an apartment vacancy.

August 23: Brandon's first day as a grad student.

And somehow, we have to squeeze in renting a moving truck, packing, cleaning, and possibly moving another family along the way (if we decide to share a truck). Awesome.

Sweet freedom

Violet got loose while I was changing her diaper yesterday. She has decided that she likes the freedom of mobility, and now I'm sure she likes the freedom of being naked.

She even figured out how to get from a crawl to a sitting position. Anything is possible when you're naked!

Grandma's 80th

We got to hang out with family this weekend at Grandma Fagg's 80th birthday party at the Lion House. Here are some pictures from it.
Brandon looking ponderous at the temple reflecting pool

Ashley dipping Violet's feet into it Me falling flat on my butt because my shoe was caught on the table leg. That's uncle Kay helping me up; Brandon was too busy taking pictures to give me a hand. Cousin Wes made sure to make fun of me for that later.

And finally the painting I am almost finished with. It's of the courtyard of the myrtles at the Alhambra in Spain. There are parts that I really don't like but I think it turned out pretty well.

It was a busy weekend. I remember when Ashley visited me while I was pregnant, Violet refused to kick for her because she didn't like being bossed around. Well, she did the same thing this weekend. I've never seen her so calm and un-entertaining as when Ashley was around. But she did like chasing Annie around the Lion House. One of my favorite moments was when cousin Jordan asked if Ashley wanted to see the chicks out back. Ashley answered, "No thanks. I'm not really into girls." And Jordan said, "Ashley, they're chickens."

Funny but so sad

This is what I was talking about in the last post. Stuck.

Memorial day

Sleeping babies are so cute. Too bad I found Violet sleeping on her face like this tonight:

It really freaked me out. I flipped her on to her back. Going to bed has been quite a struggle lately. Normally we let her cry herself to sleep, but she has discovered rolling over and mobility. So, I will put her down on her back, and she will roll over to her belly, back herself into the side of the crib, and get her legs stuck between the slats so that she can't roll back over. It was even harder this weekend at Brandon's parent's house where she had to sleep on a blanket on the floor. There was no way to contain her.

We had fun in Idaho this Memorial Day. We went to a ranch where they tag hummingbirds. I ran around with Violet pretending to chase people, and she thought it was really funny.

Brandon is having all the fun

I have been a bag blogger lately. Brandon has the camera and really not much has been going on. Since I'm boring, I'll tell everyone about what Brandon has been up to during his field camp:

They had a hotel room jujitsu tournament one night. Brandon did pretty well but still lost to the professional cage fighter.
The boys are having a contest to see who can grow the manliest beard in three weeks.
They watch movies on a laptop almost every night.
One night Brandon called me at midnight and said, "Sorry I didn't call earlier, I was in the hot tub."
They eat better than I do some weeks. They have dutch ovens and make cobbler, fajitas, and other things.
During their trip to Yellowstone, they got to walk off the trail and take samples from the geysers and mineral pools.
They have contests to see how far they can throw things off a cliff.

And I thought he would be working the whole time...

Disgust

I looked out the window, and what did I see? Snow. Not "middle of the night but melts by the morning" snow. Not "just a few flurries" snow. Heavy, wet snow that is accumulating on rooftops and killing everyone's strawberry plants.

Brave

I got my hair cut on Thursday. Unfortunately, it ended up looking NOTHING like Ashley's picture. I was severely disappointed. In my rage, I did something truly insane: I had Brandon cut my hair. And it turned out pretty cute.

Right now I am at work, so pictures will have to come later.

Houston

I am so excited to move to Houston after visiting there last week. I have no pictures because I didn't bring my camera, but here are some events from my trip:

-Violet met all her cousins, thought they were tons of fun, and made me want to have more kids (not yet).
-I found a really cute apartment complete with a dishwasher, a pantry, a walk-in closet, crown molding, a pool, and free laundry facilities.
-Mabel tried spanking the dewberry bush in the bootie, but ended up getting pricked in the finger.
-Devin thought I was really cool but kept calling me Ashee.
-We found Leah under the kids' table scavenging crumbs that the bigger kids had dropped.
-Asher cried when I held him.
-I went birthday shopping with Mom and Bexie.
-I missed my flight and started crying at the airport, but got bumped up to first class when they rescheduled.
-I went to HEB. Seriously, I was so excited about that.

It was a fun trip, but I am glad to be back to a regular sleeping/napping schedule. Plus, Brandon is home all week!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day to an awesome mom and a wonderful grandma. She was there for two weeks before Violet was born and got me all ready for it. She even helped me through a major meltdown when I felt like Violet wouldn't come. She rode bikes with me when I was little, saw me through my shady adolescence, and calls me every week now that I am "all grown up." She has been so much help and she continues to help me with anything I need. She is one of the kindest and most generous people I know, and until last October, I really had no idea what she had done for me. I am beginning to understand it a little. I love you, Mom the Bomb! I can't wait to see you on Tuesday.
Mother's day has been great for me. Violet was nice and slept in until 9:20. Unfortunately we have church at 9:00, and I never set an alarm because usually Violet wakes me up at 8:00. So, we only went to 2 hours of church. Brandon is making dinner for me as we speak, the weather has been great, and I get to see my family in 2 days. Today is great!

Since he's been gone

This week Brandon started his 6-week field trip where he is gone 3-4 days each week. Some other wives of geology students and I started a dinner group for when the boys are gone. It has been really fun-- last night I made Cafe Rio pork salads and now everyone thinks I'm a great cook. Boy, do I have them fooled.

With all this free time I have come up with some new projects to occupy myself. This week I learned how to make jewelry and I made this ring. It was my first one so it has several flaws, but I think it looks pretty cool.

And luckily, Violet hasn't forgotten who Daddy is. She was very happy to see him when he got home tonight.

Guess who LOVES kitties?

Violet does. Last night I was at a friend's house and her cat came over to investigate Violet. Violet started smiling and kicking and squealing with delight. Every time the cat would walk by, Violet reached out and tried to pet him. When he walked away, Violet would stick both arms out at him and yell until he came back. It melted my heart, but it still probably isn't enough to cure Brandon of his cat hatred.

Graduation and Arches

Violet loved going to Arches on Saturday. She seemed to take in all the scenery and she was smiling and talking most of the time. She did have a short nap on the way to Delicate Arch, and she LOVED the Redvines that we fed her. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for coming to graduation!

Violet's new favorite game

I don't know how this girl is going to survive to be an adult.

Easter madness

This past week and a half has been a blast. Poodle and I shopped all week and did other fun things (in this picture we are bowling). Violet can sure spot a pushover when she sees one, becuase when Poodle was here, she was constantly demanding to be held and played with. Once Poodle left, Violet went back to entertaining herself. We also got to wear matching scarves! I gave Poodle one of the scarves that Mom brought me from Paris, and she loved it. That day we ate unleavened bread for the Passover. Actually it was supposed to be cinnamon rolls, but the dough decided to be Jewish and it wouldn't rise. So, we had scones.

On Easter Violet got to meet her aunt Lena for the first time. I know this picture makes it look like Violet didn't like her very much, but she did. She was just tired when I took this picture.

After that, we had dinner and watched conference at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Violet was good the entire time and enjoyed just playing with her feet.

Fun with Poodle

Today Poodle and I had a photo shoot at Vivian Park, and this is how it turned out. Photo shoots are my new favorite thing to do. Violet and Poodle matched, and it was adorable. I think we need to go back sometime and take family pictures.