Let's Talk Business.

Being a business woman is hard work.  Ask Mikayla, she should know.  There are SO many things you have to do each day to play the part.

You have to make lots of important phone calls (in this case, resorting to a SPOON of all things to make the calls go through-what is this world coming to?!).

You spend all day in your "office" dealing with the junk piled on (or under as the case may be) your desk.

Sometimes dealing with all the junk that piles up requires you to make a bigger mess before you can make any progress.

Reading all kinds of VERY important papers is one of the most serious jobs around.

At times, the work load gets so heavy it requires a third hand (or mouth) to get a handle on it all.

Most days, you're so busy you don't even have time to sit down and eat a real meal.

The hardest part of all?  Dressing the part.  You can never take dressing the part of a business woman lightly.  Accessories are a must.

Dressing the part requires so much effort that sometimes it just isn't worth smiling about.

It could wear a person out!

And finally, good friends are a must if you're going to make it through the day.

Thank you, Mrs. Bear and silk flowers for being the best friends a girl could ever ask for.  You make the life of a busy business woman bearable.

My Shadow

We got the keys to our house and an hour later started destroying the walls trying to figure out what colors we were going to paint.  Needless to say, Mikayla went to the paint store a few times with me to get different colors to try out.  She caught on quick to the name of the game.

We LOVE paint swatches!

Here's a sneak peak at our colors.  Don't be scared.  They'll be awesome. : )

I couldn't get the color for Mikayla's room to copy.  Let's just say that the name of it is "First Love".  Ya, it's that cool.

Paint this week and move-in on Saturday!

By the way, how about Mikayla's bed head this morning?  I can't get a picture that does it justice, but you can get the idea!

A smile to my face.

I love looking in the rear view mirror.  It's never where it's supposed to be because I have to position it just right to see this:

It makes me happy.  I love her to death.

By the way, how 'bout her outfit?!

Random story...I just went to get Mikayla up from a nap because I heard her squealing.  When I went in to her room all the blankets, pillows, etc. from her bed were on the floor and she was SO excited because she found the flower print on her mattress.  She just kept pointing at the imprinted flowers over and over again and squealing with delight. BEST DAY EVER!!!

Because some days are just hard.

(not saying today has been hard or bad, these messages have been just what I've needed lately on some tougher days and I thought I would share)

Tips for Proper Flower Enjoyment

When few things bring you more joy in life than a flower you learn quickly how to properly enjoy them.  We'd thought we'd share a few tips with you in case becoming a flower connoisseur (or something of the sort) is on the top of your "to do" list.

Pick 'em.  Just like boogers...

The best spot for a flower is in your hair.  This is best done by "fluffing" the flower up to your "hair" (or next to your ear if you don't have much hair) and saying "woo-u-woo-u" (as in that is SO pretty!).

The more the merrier.  Keep on picking 'em.

Sometimes you just gotta take a taste and make sure you got a good one.  Like I said, just like boogers...

Just in case you forgot, flowers go in your hair. ;)

Take time to smell 'em.  This is best done by scrunching up your whole face and stuffing the flower in your nose, then let everyone around you take turns smelling your flower by stuffing it in their face over and over again.  Gotta share a good thing.

Hold on tight.  Don't let something good slip away from you because

it will bring you pure joy.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the black eye is not essential in the flower enjoying process.

I know kids get obsessed with things, but this flower obsession things is out of control!  Let me give you a few examples:

-She goes through the ads in the mail the other day and out of all the things she could find in them she finds flowers on a picture of Miracle Gro in the Ace Hardware ad and is ecstatic about it .  Seriously?!

-I literally can't take her in Michaels, JoAnn's, Home Depot, the Dollar Tree...anywhere with fake or real flowers because she yells out "eeeeeeessseeee" (her word for please, but said seriously like George of the Jungle when he is swinging through the trees) while signing please (rubbing her hand in circles around her tummy) the WHOLE time and everyone looks at me like I'm starving her to death because she is rubbing her tummy and screaming.

-She carries around petals that have fallen out of the fake flowers in her hair bows all day long in the fist of her hand, even when she is crawling, and lets out a shrill scream every time she remembers it is there and gets SO excited.

-I know I've said this before, but she can spot flowers from a mile away, even if they are tiny.

-She discovered the flower print on the shirt she is wearing in these pictures and dragged it around with her like she'd just won the lottery (they did have glitter on them and were pretty fancy, in her defense).

-I find her trying to get in her dresser drawer that houses all of her hair flowers and begging for a flower (remember the obnoxious "PLEASE" ritual described above?  Repeat that here.) ALL day long.

The best part though?  A silly flower, or any portion of a destroyed flower, can keep her occupied for the longest time.  Simple pleasures.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!

Signed our life away... but we are now the proud owners of a BRAND NEW HOUSE!!!!

A Weekend for 2

Fud+Dud+Phoenix-Mikayla=A weekend for 2

  Our little Button is away in the mountains with her grandparents being spoiled completely rotten.  She is having the time of her life and we've had the time of our lives.  

We've pretended we had no cares in this world for 3 full days.

We went out to eat.

We went to the movies.

We watched TV and read all night, then slept all morning.

We sat in the hot tub.

We walked around the lake.

We went to the temple.

We went shopping.

We went to the zoo.

We've done whatever we wanted all weekend long.

We didn't take a single picture to document, but believe me-it was bliss.

In honor of our shopping adventures, here's a couple pictures from last week to liven things up...

She's taking a few steps at a time now (about time at 16 months, right?!).  Recognize the prized item in the cart?! ;)

We aren't sure when she's going to honor us with her presence again, but until then we'll enjoy not knowing what to do with all our free...thank you Grandad and Nanny Jill for the vacation!

More Progress

A week from tomorrow we sign papers on the house!  Yipee skipee!  Here's some pictures of the kitchen and living room because those are the rooms that have actually changed a little bit (i.e. kitchen counters, appliances, and carpet!).

I spy Mikayla's flower on the floor!

It's all in the brows.

Dustin and Mikayla worked outside for a little bit on Saturday.  They were so cute that I just kept taking tons of pictures and I couldn't help myself, then I couldn't pick which ones I liked best, then I just decided to post 90 of them, but then you all would think I am obsessed with taking pictures of my hubby and daughter (and you'd be right-they are my only subjects in my defense...).  Oh well.  You've been warned.

See the flower in her hands (that doesn't leave her hands for ANY of the pictures)?  That's her newest favorite thing in the whole world.  Aunt Kim brought it to her all the way from New Mexico.  Something that prized cannot be put down, even to play in the dirt.  Her Pappy would probably be pretty disgusted. ;)  To say we have an obsession with all things related to FLOWERS around here would be an understatement.

See the resemblance?  Yep.  It's all in the brows.

The only problem with playing outside in the dirt all day on Saturday is that when Sunday morning rolls around, then this seems like the best way to pass the time...

How is one to know that it's okay to throw dirt outside, but dirt inside is off limits?

Dirt just adds so much volume to a practically bald head that it makes it hard to resist.

Luckily, we clean up pretty well around here.

P.S. She puts her own hat on and yes, we know it's on backwards.

Receptions are the Best

Receptions pretty much go like this:

1.  Your parents dress you up

2.  Everyone thinks you're SO cute in your dress that if you say "please" enough (do the sign language for please while loudly saying "eeeeeessssseeeeee"), then you get whatever you want.

3.  In this case, you get food.  And lots of it.  

4.  Oh, ya, and don't forget flowers.  Gotta have the flowers at a reception (or anytime, anywhere for Mikayla).  Your parents will probably try to keep you away from the flowers in the table centerpieces, but if you find Grandad he'll let you have them for sure.

4. Then, repeat step 2 all night long because the grown-ups are too busy talking and helping with the reception they'll give you pretty much anything you want to keep you happy.

5.  Oh, and if you have time, you'll probably want to congratulate the happy newlyweds.  It's the polite thing to do.

Congrats, Jeff and Natalie!  Love you guys!

Conflicted

They may be small, but I am in love with these...

Mikayla's "pigtails".

The only problem is that whenever she wears them she seems to think they are actually devil's horns instead of pigtails and makes it her personal duty to act the part.  It's AWFUL.  We barely lived through yesterday with the horns in place.  What's one to do?!

See...you'd be torn, too...the cuteness (as in those are so funny looking that they are actually cute) of the pigtails makes it hard to not put her hair in them!

Luckily, we had a couple (not a few, just a couple) moments like this yesterday that saved my sanity.