Ella's First Steps!

Last night, my baby took her very first steps! Todd had an outdoor concert gig with the other members of the Aurora Symphony Brass Quintet, and we went to support him and listen to the music. The group that was hosting the performance had free ice cream available for all the attendees, and they also brought around chocolate chip cookies to all of the kids in the audience. I had unfolded our chairs and folded up the double stroller with the wheels up so they could spin freely. After finishing her cookie, Evie got off of her chair and started spinning the wheels. Elizabeth, who was sitting on my lap munching her cookie, saw how much fun her sister was having and squirmed off of my lap. She's been able to stand unsupported for quite a while now, and she's been flirting with the idea of taking steps for almost as long, but she hadn't quit done it yet. Until now, of course! After standing still for a moment, clutching part of her cookie in each hand, as she watched Evie playing, she hesitantly took a few steps toward the spinning wheel.

I've been getting antsy about Elizabeth meeting this huge milestone. I knew (or at least hoped) that it would be soon, but I've also been worried that I would miss it. I've tried everything I could think of to encourage her to take that first big step (pun not intended...very much!) and to ensure that it would happen when both Todd and I were around to witness it, but I knew it would happen when Elizabeth decided it was finally time. I'm very glad that, not only was I able to witness this huge event, but also get it on video! Todd was able to see it too from his place on the stage, and I know he played especially in her honor for the rest of the night. After all, Elizabeth's first steps did happen when she was ready. I guess all it took was a little girl not wanting to get her cookie dirty on her way to play!

Auto-Bituary

Baxter Accord Honda, aged 24, died August 13, 2013. Cause of death was determined to be Part Failure.
Baxter was born in 1989 in Marysville, Ohio at the Marysville Auto Plant. He lived a very full life for 20 years before moving to Provo, Utah to be employed by the Jacobs Family in October 2009. Two years later, he moved with the family to Colorado, where he continued his employment until his death.
He is survived by his employers, the Jacobs Family, and his neice, Circe Odyssey Honda.
His employer, Jessica, wrote: "He was a crotchety old curmudgeon, but he was such an important part of our lives that it is hard to see him go!"
A service was held at 9:49 on Tuesday morning at his home in Centennial, Colorado.
1st Class Towing was in charge of burial arrangements.

Family Wedding

Yesterday, my brother got married, and I was able to attend! Like I mentioned in my last post, my parents flew us out for the weekend, and I enjoyed every moment of it! On Friday, we went to lunch at Red Robin to celebrate my parents' birthdays, and it was so much fun to just sit around a table and talk and laugh with my family. Then, on Saturday, it was time to get ready for the wedding. Hailey, my sister, and I spent a couple of hours getting our hair and makeup done. We dressed up my girls in their cute birthday dresses, and we went to the venue to set up. My brother got married on the bank of the Snake River, just across the bridge from the temple.
Their wedding colors were blue and purple, so Todd and I bought them two sets of bath towels while all of the final arrangements were being made. We made it back in time to finish setting up chairs and arranging family members as they arrived. There were several hiccups in the proceedings, but my brother and his new wife looked happy, and they even had tears in their eyes as they exchanged their wedding vows. Directly after the ceremony was their reception. We stood in a group for pictures, and then we watched them cut their cake.

Sorry, this is pretty much the only picture I took all day because of all of the running around we did. Directly in front of me is my sister, Hailey, with her cute new haircut, and Todd holding Elizabeth.

My mom had provided really fun refreshments--purple cupcakes, lemonade, and mini cups of Skittles--and had covered the tables with blue tablecloths and really pretty centerpieces made of little fish bowls filled with blue and purple glass rocks. She really did a great job of making everything nice for them! After the reception, we all went out to dinner at Applebee's with my aunt and uncle who had come from out of town. That was really fun too! (I'm sure it's obvious by now, but I really enjoy being around my family!) Then, they headed back to Utah, and we headed home. Hailey, Elizabeth and I rode in my mom's car while my dad took Todd and Evie in his truck. We got home and waited for awhile before the others got there.
It turns out that they had swung by the temple on the way home so Evie could take a look at it, which I actually really appreciated. For several months now, we've been explaining to her that the temple is a very special place where Heavenly Father wants us to get married. She's been thrilled with the temple ever since, always pointing it out in our wedding pictures and asking to drive past it. So a few weeks ago, when we told Evie that her Uncle Scott was getting married, she got really excited, and when she saw him she happily exclaimed that she was glad he was getting married in the temple, where Heavenly Father wanted him to. Since he actually wasn't getting married in the temple, I really hope she didn't offend him. But, at the same time, I want her to associate marriage with the temple. When she thinks about getting married herself, I want her first, automatic, reaction to be that she wants to be married in one of God's temples. So even though the actual wedding didn't happen in the temple yesterday, I'm glad that Todd and my dad drove her past it, just to help cement in her mind the idea that marriage and the temple should always go together.
Early this morning, my dad flew back to North Dakota for work, and we followed him to the airport a few hours later, after attending church with my mom. Our flight went well--Evie fell asleep, and Ella spent the whole time playing with me--and we landed safely. However, when we were walking through the airport, something strange happened. I had gone into the bathroom to fix my hair and when I came back, I took Elizabeth from Todd so he could grab his suitcase again. All of a sudden, a lady came up to me, gestured to Elizabeth, and said, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I have a really strong feeling I need to tell you something. Someday, this baby girl will grow up to do great things!" We thanked her and she walked away, but it was definitely strange. I'm sure my kids will grow up to be amazing women who can do anything they put their minds to, but it was a little weird hearing a stranger say it. Of course, I'm also feeling a little weird anyway. We hadn't even gotten onto the airplane yet, and I already missed my family. One weekend wasn't quite long enough for me to soak up all of the family time I needed, and I'm already looking forward to Christmas, when I get to spend an entire week with them!

Evie's Big Adventure

My brother is getting married tomorrow. Unfortunately, he didn't tell us he was getting married until after Todd had already requested all of his time off of work, so we didn't think we were going to be able to make it. Then, a miracle happened and my parents offered to fly us out for the weekend so we could attend my brother's wedding! For the last several months, Evie's been obsessed with airplanes. Todd works close to a little airport, so every time we drop him off or pick him up, Evie points at the sky and says "Look! Do you see the airplane?" Her vision and hearing are obviously much sharper than ours because she can identify a nearby plane well before it's close enough for either of us to see or hear it. She loves seeing airplanes in movies or pictures, too. Pretty much, if there is anything remotely related to airplanes, Evie is enchanted. So when we told her that we were going to get to ride on an airplane ourselves, her whole life focused onto that one event. Yesterday, Evie finally had the best adventure of her life so far: she got to ride on the airplane!
We picked up Todd from work yesterday, and we drove straight to the airport. We found a spot in the parking lot and then hitched a ride on the shuttle to the terminal. Evie is also a fan of "The Magic School Bus," so when we were waiting for the shuttle to pick us up, she was so excited about riding on the "magic bus!" Then we walked through the terminal, through security, and to the train that runs to the concourses. When we got onto the train, Evie held onto the pole and I crouched down next to her and wrapped my arms around her and the pole so she wouldn't fall over. The train runs really fast, so Evie had a mask of terror mixed with excitement plastered onto her face. Once we got to our concourse, we had a long walk before we made it to our gate. Fortunately, they have the moving sidewalks to help speed things along. Evie almost fell down the first time she stepped onto the sidewalk, and again when she stepped off. There were three of them, though, so by the end she was stepping on and off of the sidewalk like an old pro! When we got to our gate, Evie gave the man her ticket and walked onto the airplane. I had loaded my I-pod with movies for her to watch, in case taking off and landing were too scary for her, but it turns out that I needn't have bothered: from the time we got to our seats until we landed, Evie's nose was glued to her window. She excitedly pointed out everything she saw, including trees, clouds, and even "the Idaho." We walked off of the airplane and pretty much straight into my parents' arms; they were very eager to snuggle and kiss our sweet girls, and Evie was very eager to tell them everything she'd seen and done all day! I'm thinking her airplane ride was a huge hit!